


Time Yet For a Hundred Indecisions

by aj_hofacre, lydiamartin (dwinchester)



Series: Mermaids Never Sang [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: American Sign Language, Christmas, Dubious Consent, F/M, Interactive Fiction, Lydia is a Disney Princess, M/M, Mute Lydia, New Year's Eve, Past Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Reader-Interactive, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, World of Warcraft - Freeform, hints of Malia Tate/Lydia Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 157,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_hofacre/pseuds/aj_hofacre, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwinchester/pseuds/lydiamartin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Senior year in Beacon Hills. Stallison AU, post season 3B.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Return to Beacon Hills

_November 27, 2012_

Lydia stared sleepily at the flight information on the screen over her head as she waited for Allison and Stiles to arrive. She wasn’t sure how or why the two of them were orbiting around each other all of a sudden. Her conversation with Allison really hadn’t given her enough information, and it seemed like that was intentional on Allison’s part. Stiles had managed to become somewhat introspective, or so Lydia had thought, until she realized that he was quieter around the pack because he was talking to someone else. She liked everything to have a balance, and this new behavior from the two of them was throwing everything and everyone else into chaos. It had her worried, since the last time Stiles had indulged in a less-than-ordered lifestyle, Allison nearly died. 

Stiles waved to Lydia from the stairs, then yawned as he turned toward Allison and took her hand. “We’re going to be interrogated for the next hour.” He was still surprised that he had been gone for four days. “This day will already be insane enough with having to readjust my sleep habits and wondering if you’ll be in any of the same classes as me, but add in having to deal with a pissed off alpha and a determined Lydia? We should go right back to Paris. Right now.” The trip really had changed everything for him and Allison. At their layover in Newark, they couldn’t agree on what they wanted to eat, so they agreed to split up and meet later on. Somehow, that had turned into another of their typical conversations through the app, but it stopped being typical when Allison had done the exact thing that Stiles figured she never would and asked him if there was any shot at a more romantic relationship. She had been worried that his friendship with Scott was preventing him from wanting her, and that hadn’t been the problem. Or at least, not entirely. In the end, the result was that he was going to stop worrying over what Scott might say or do. Stiles wanted Allison and she wanted him back. Scott would just have to understand. 

Allison stared down at their entwined hands with a soft, sleepy smile before she looked up at Stiles again. She paused, her gaze locked on his for a long moment. She'd always known what she wanted and yeah, there had been more than a few mishaps and wrong moves along the way, but that didn't change what Allison's heart inherently _knew_. In the time that she'd known Stiles, he'd gone from her boyfriend's strange-but-kind-of-funny best friend, to a hero in his own right, to the unwitting patsy of an entity bent on chaos (though when he’d still been himself, the fear and bravery she’d witnessed from him had just about bowled her over in awe) to someone she couldn't see herself not having in her life. Every time she looked into his eyes, she felt warm, safe, and wanted. She didn’t see the nogitsune, not the creature that had nearly murdered her at all; she just saw Stiles. She felt like it was alright that she didn't have all the answers - because if she didn't, Stiles certainly did. And so, she'd bitten the bullet during their last text conversation, putting herself out there, and was all the more grateful when it turned out that she _hadn't_ been projecting her own feelings into Stiles. Even with Lydia's immediate, demanding presence, and Scott's looming in the future, Allison couldn't care less. She had what - who - she wanted, and damn everyone else if they didn't like it. She turned to stare out toward the gathered arrivals, spotting Lydia's telltale strawberry blonde curls, and squeezed Stiles' hand, her smile widening as she waved to Lydia with her other hand. "No going back to Paris. Me and you against Lydia, Scott, and anyone else that wants to have a go at us? Piece of cake.” She turned her head to smile up at him. “I'm up for it, if you are."

Stiles smiled back at Allison and nodded. He started walking down the stairs, careful not to go too fast and cause Allison to lose her balance, but also not so slow that she might get offended. He stopped near Lydia, startled when he realized he had mentally prepared himself to battle her - only verbally, he didn’t expect this to turn into some kind of Kill Bill thing. 

“I knew this was going to happen.” Lydia murmured. “As long as neither one of you wants to murder the other one, I don’t think we’ll have a problem. But the second that changes, _if_ it changes, I’m going to put wolfsbane in everything you own. It’s just as harmful to humans as it is to werewolves.” 

Allison blinked, sidling up against Stiles and watching Lydia warily. “... I’m not sure if you’re threatening Stiles, me, or the both of us, and I’m kind of scared that I don’t know.” She admitted. She averted her gaze, focusing on her hand in Stiles’ hand. “I don’t want to hurt Stiles, anyway.” She mumbled quietly. “Now are you going to smile and hug me and welcome me back, or not?”

Lydia smiled and hugged Allison. “We have a lot of catching up to do. But that can wait until tomorrow. It looks like Jackson was kind of an influence on your wardrobe while you were away.” She pulled back to study Allison’s outfit. 

Stiles could hear the question Lydia wasn’t asking. “I didn’t see him while I was there, but he’s coming back.” He smiled to himself when he saw Lydia’s expression go from relieved, to hopeful, and right back to indifferent. 

Allison hid her own smile, the corners of her mouth trying in vain to twitch upward. “He did.” She added in reply to Lydia’s comment. She nudged Stiles gently. “He found out you were coming because of Isaac, and then chose to stay away. Something about how the two of you are better off with distance between the two of you.” She grinned at him teasingly.

Stiles laughed. “Probably because one of the last times I saw him, I had kidnapped him in a police van? That tends to cause distrust between people.” He would do it again, though. If it was necessary. 

Lydia rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, walking out of the airport. She wasn’t going to look back to see if they were following her, she just expected it to happen. She felt that she had handled the news of the burgeoning relationship pretty well, all things considered. She doubted that Scott would be as welcoming. 

Allison followed after Lydia, dropping her head against Stiles’ shoulder, one hand firmly ensconced in his while the other dragged her luggage along. “She’s my best friend, and I can still never tell if she’s pissed off at me or not.” She whispered to him.

Stiles hesitated for a moment, then shifted his gaze to glance at Allison. “Do we - is it okay if I refer to the fact that I’m kind of fluent in Lydia? I don’t want to offend you.” He had once admired Scott for having Allison as his first girlfriend, since she was really understanding about things, but this Allison just _wasn’t_ Scott’s Allison. All of them had changed a lot since Laura Hale’s body had been found in the woods. The Allison holding his hand was _his_ Allison, and he wasn’t interested in losing her.

Allison shook her head. “It’s not offensive. I mean, I think it would probably be more offensive if you were, like, drooling over her right now. You liked her for a really long time, since long before I ever showed up. It’d be stupid of me to be upset about that.” She couldn’t help but turn her head toward him and brush a kiss over his shoulder.

Stiles turned to face Allison when they reached Lydia’s car. He smiled at her. “Well, that can wait.” He nodded. “There’s a thing we haven’t done yet, and you almost ruined it.” He laughed. “I used to be really picky about moments, but I have a feeling that you don’t care too much about that. I just want to know if this is the best place for this to happen because, assuming this works out, and I want it to - do we really want to tell people later on that the first time we kissed, it was right before we got in a car for an hour, to go back to Beacon Hills? Because Lydia’s going to make you sit up front and I’ll just be in the back, pretending I’m not there when she makes you talk about me.” 

Allison smirked at him, poking Stiles in the side. “I almost-ruined nothing.” She said firmly, and let go of her suitcase for a moment so that she could wrap her arms around his waist. “And I honestly don’t really care what other people think. It’s no one’s business if I kiss you outside of this car, or in the middle of the street, or at a peace march, or at graduation.” She paused and looked at him intently. “And if I have my way, I plan on doing that last one, on stage, in front of everyone. Because yes, Stiles, I like you that much.”

Stiles stared back at Allison for a long moment, flailing when Lydia honked the horn at them. He turned his head to look at the redhead as she glared daggers at him and gestured for him to get in the car. When he looked back at Allison, he was smiling deviously and leaned in to kiss her. 

Allison giggled softly, smiling against Stiles’ lips as she kissed him back. One arm slid from around his waist and up, wrapping around his neck.

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s waist, sighing when he finally pulled away. He had ignored Lydia’s second attempt at honking the horn to get their attention, but the third one was more than he could stand and he knew she had a point. He opened one of the back doors of the car and put Allison’s suitcase and his duffel bag inside, then walked around the car to open the passenger-side door for Allison. 

Allison smiled almost shyly at him, her eyes sparkling as she passed in front of him to get into the passenger seat of the car. She ducked forward as she did, pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek before dropping down next to Lydia and ducking her head with a grin.

Lydia waited until she was out of her parking space before she spoke. “The two of you are going to make me sick with your cute little new couple behavior.” She remarked. She wasn’t interested in Stiles romantically, but she couldn’t help feeling a little regretful that she was only now seeing what Stiles could be like in a relationship. If she cared a little more about him or a little less about her own morality, his smiles and considerate gestures would have been for her. She pressed her foot down a little harder on the gas pedal, eager to get back to town, where she could drop Stiles off and go back to ignoring him, at least for the next few hours. 

Allison looked over at Lydia eventually, a few minutes into the ride. “So, I know I brought it up to you, but we never really clarified it, and I kind of never outright asked, but would it be okay if I stayed with you?” She asked. “It’s alright if it’s not. Dad never actually sold the apartment, so it’s still ours.”

“Allison.” Lydia smiled patiently. “You could have an apartment entirely to yourself until your dad gets back, and you have a new boyfriend. Why are you even considering any alternatives?” 

Allison rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I missed you, and I’d like to spend some time with you, too?” She looked back over her shoulder at Stiles. “I get to have as much time as I want with Stiles. I’d like to spend my time with you, too. Or did I get demoted from the best friend title?”

Lydia pursed her lips. “How about if I come stay with you instead?” She suggested. “At least for a day or two? I wasn’t lying, I have missed you. I just didn’t want to intrude.” 

Allison shook her head, smiling gently at her friend. “You couldn’t intrude. I’d tell you if you were. And yeah, that sounds good.” She nudged Lydia’s shoulder. “I’d like that.”

Lydia smiled back at Allison. “I hope you got enough sleep on the flight, because we have a lot to talk about.” She didn’t really mean it, she was exhausted and wanted to sleep, but seeing Stiles fidget was worth the lie. 

Allison chanced a look over her shoulder at Stiles, then pasted a wide smile on her face for Lydia. “Yeah, we’re good.” She laughed. “Poor Stiles got used as a pillow pretty much the entire trip over the Atlantic.”

“I didn’t mind at all.” Stiles grinned. “I’ll probably fall asleep before you get to my house, Lydia. Just don’t leave me on the lawn.” He didn’t think she would, but he always cautioned people not to do the kinds of things he would actually consider doing. 

Allison giggled. “I’ve heard stories about more uncomfortable places that people have found you asleep in.” She teased him, twisting around to look at him.

“Two days of research makes me tired.” Stiles murmured, shrugging. He slouched a little, stretching his legs out in front of him and pulling his hood over his eyes as he started to drift off to sleep. 

Lydia waited a few more minutes, making sure Stiles was asleep before she spoke. “How did the two of you go from ‘we’re just friends who met by random circumstances’ to being in a relationship?” She looked over at Allison. “Were you lying when you said you weren’t interested in him, or had you just not figured it out for yourself yet?” 

Allison turned to face forward, staring silently out of the windshield. She exhaled heavily a moment later. “Part of me knew. Just… I hadn’t come to terms with it yet.” Her fingers twisted around her seatbelt. “It was kind of… like a switch flipped when I saw him. When we talked. He was - I just…” She trailed off, shaking her head with a frown. “It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t like I searched Stiles out and went, ‘I hereby decree that I shall only see Stiles as a friend until the rest of me wakes up and gets with the program before I decide to jump him.’” She paused, running her sentence through her mind again before frowning deeply. “Except… that that’s kind of exactly what happened?” She looked at Lydia. “I wasn’t expecting anything. And the more we talked and joked and laughed and spent time together, the more I really saw him. And the more I really, really liked what I saw.” She sat back. “I really like him, Lydia.”

Lydia smiled. “I know you do.” She nodded. “I knew before you did. Obviously.” She laughed. “I am still a little worried about the two of you being together, since it’s basically like throwing a lit match into kerosene, but I’m glad you’re both happy. I hope it lasts.” 

“I hope it does, too.” Allison said quietly, but Lydia’s words caught on repeat in her mind. _'Like throwing a lit match into kerosene.'_ What exactly did that mean?

Lydia caught the look on Allison’s face and exhaled in frustration. “I just mean that the two of you can be a little volatile.” She said quickly. “You both have tempers and go to the extreme when you’re angry about something. If you ever fought with each other, the rest of us might end up being collateral damage.” 

Allison nodded slowly, looking dubious. It wasn’t like Lydia was wrong, but she and Stiles hadn’t exhibited that kind of attitude in what felt like ages. She was sure that they’d be okay. “Alright.” She murmured. “Thanks, but… I think we’ll be okay.” She nodded again, punctuating the sentence.

Lydia decided it was best not to prolong the discussion, even though she still had her doubts. “So... tell me how Jackson’s been doing without me. If he’s been okay, I expect you to lie and tell me he gained thirty pounds and cries into his ice cream. Don’t disappoint me, Allison.” She smiled. 

Allison couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face. “He’s been a clingy, annoying little shit.” She promptly replied. “Jackson didn’t gain any weight, but he’s definitely been kind of, um… hovery, I guess the word would be.”

"That doesn't sound like him." Lydia mused. "But he always did treat you differently than he treated me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow Stiles and Allison on tumblr! 
> 
> http://adderallandconverse.tumblr.com  
> http://deadlysilver.tumblr.com
> 
> Or you can ask some of the pack members questions.
> 
> Allison - http://ask.fm/crossbowsandsilver  
> Stiles - http://ask.fm/adderallandconverse  
> Lydia - http://ask.fm/ofpythagorasandprada
> 
> If there's something you want to see in this series, leave us a comment! We can't promise everything, but we'll try our best to work things in.


	2. Fatherly Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles laughed. “I’m glad you’re not saying ‘I told you so,’ even though you did.” He glanced up at his dad. “Why aren’t you?” 
> 
> “Because.” John ducked his head, his lips twitching a little bit, though his eyes looked a little sad. “It’s what my dad said to me when I fell for your mom.”
> 
> “But the two of you had the kind of relationship that made Buttercup and Westley look like they weren’t trying hard enough.” Stiles remarked. “So maybe Grandpa was onto something.”

_November 27, 2012  
7:15 am_

Stiles poured himself a bowl of cereal and rubbed his eyes as he opened the fridge to get the milk out. He took the cap off and poured a little into the bowl, then opened the fridge a second time to put the milk back, before he realized he had forgotten to replace the lid. He screwed it back on and put the milk away, kicking the door shut. 

John was mimicking his son as he came into the house, rubbing his hands over his eyes and yawning. He stopped at the kitchen door and glowered at Stiles. “Hey. No kicking the damn equipment, kid.” He chastised, then stumbled over to the fridge, tugging it open to find a bottle of water. “You just getting up?”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. “I got home around one this morning. I’m going to probably sleep through lunch, just to make up for the sleep I’ve missed. It’s kind of cool though, leaving in the middle of Monday morning and getting back here on Monday.” 

John cracked open the cap of the bottle and took a drink. “I’m sure you think so,” he said dryly. “How was the trip and the flight back, anyway? I missed you, kid.” He smiled and rubbed his hand over Stiles’ hair. “The house is different when it doesn’t have your running mouth going in the background. Too quiet.”

“Well, even though I left on Thursday night, it was Saturday when I got there, because the time difference is weird. And I spent just about all day Saturday going to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and a few other places Allison thought I should see. I have souvenirs for you, but I’m not going back upstairs. If I do, I’ll just go back to bed. You can wait a few more hours. Sunday was more packing and going to a bistro, which I’m still convinced is just French for ‘diner,’ and then we left on Monday morning. Also, we’re dating now.” Stiles took a bite of his cereal, deliberately preventing himself from being able to respond when his dad reacted to his news. 

“Is that so?” John replied, smirking faintly at Stiles. “So I take it that nothing became something, and being in the most romantic city in the world may have had more of an effect on you than you thought?”

“Okay, I’m pretty sure that Newark isn’t the most romantic city in the world.” Stiles corrected. “We went to separate places in the airport to get something to eat and she texted me, sort of, to talk to me about the possibility of us dating, and I admitted that I wanted to go out with her.”

John raised his index finger. “You didn’t exactly say _where_ you two had started dating. I made an assumption, since you were in Paris not that long ago.” He raised a second finger. “And all I said was that being there had an effect on you.” He watched Stiles for a moment, then smiled. “Either way, it had a result you wanted. You really like each other?”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I knew I liked her before I even left here, but I didn’t want to start thinking of her the way I thought of Lydia. I mean, no reciprocation at all when the whole world knew I liked her... it was bad enough. But to like someone that not only might not like you, but is also the ex of your best friend? I felt like a complete dick about it.” 

John pursed his lips, setting his water bottle on the table and studying his son. “I take it Scott doesn’t know about the recent developments just yet?”

“No, he doesn’t. Lydia told me that he’s out of town, touring colleges.” Stiles couldn’t help feeling relieved, even though that, in turn, made him feel guilty. He knew he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but it felt like it. “I’m not sure how to tell him. It seems wrong to do it over the phone.” 

“You’re probably right about that.” John nodded slowly. “So at this point, you’ve only got three other options, and one of them is a really shitty move. You either hunt him down while he’s out touring to tell him, you wait until he gets back to tell him, or you text him. “ John gestured idly with both hands and shrugged. “Whatever you do, son, it’s not going to go over well, and I’m sorry for that.”

“So am I, but I’m also not.” Stiles took a few more bites of cereal. “I’m not breaking up with her.” 

“You reserve the right not to.” John agreed. “As long as she’s over Scott, because if she’s not and she’s planning to use you to make him jealous before she goes back to him, I’m gonna have to say that I don’t like her and I don’t want her near my kid.” John raised his eyes to Stiles. “And since you like her so much, I’d hate to have to say that, Stiles. You’re my son. I want you happy. If she makes you happy, then we’re good, but the second that stops, you do whatever you can to get out unscathed.” John’s voice was utterly serious, and there was concern in his eyes.

Stiles smiled patiently. “She’s not like that, Dad. Lydia is, but not Allison. She’s more direct about things, and if she wanted Scott, she’d be with him. For some reason, she likes me, and we’re not planning on getting married or anything, just spending time together. She kinda said that she already did the crazy, reckless thing with Scott. I’m safer. Somehow.” He held his hands up defensively. 

John grinned. “Imagine that.” He murmured. “Alright. Like I said, I want you happy, kid. You look pretty damn happy, so I guess I can put the Sheriff aside for now and just be Dad.” He stood and leaned forward to hug Stiles, kissing the top of his head. “I’m glad that she puts that smile on your face, son.”

“Me too.” Stiles laughed. “I’m glad you’re not saying ‘I told you so,’ even though you did.” He glanced up at his dad. “Why aren’t you?” 

“Because.” John ducked his head, his lips twitching a little bit, though his eyes looked a little sad. “It’s what my dad said to me when I fell for your mom.”

“But the two of you had the kind of relationship that made Buttercup and Westley look like they weren’t trying hard enough.” Stiles remarked. “So maybe Grandpa was onto something.” 

John laughed. “Your grandpa _was_ onto something. But you and Allison aren’t your mom and me. You’re yourselves. I want you two to put me and your mom to shame, kiddo. So I’m not going to say ‘I told you so’ now. Not yet.” The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I’ll tell you in fifteen years.”

Stiles shrugged one shoulder. “If Allison and I do last that long, I’ll owe you twenty bucks. I’m not trying to be a pessimist, just a realist.” 

“Yeah, well. I’ve got faith in you. Anyway, your _dziadek_ didn’t think ‘Nae and I would last long.” He let out a heavy sigh. “He, uh… He always told us that your mom shouldn’t have settled for me, should have at least gone and found someone she might have been more compatible with, someone that had the same interests that she did.” John smiled weakly at Stiles. “He never really approved of me. I was too straight-laced and uptight, and your mom was too wild and free-spirited for me. Wasn’t until we had you that he saw how damn happy we were and backed off. Your mom gave you his name out of respect for him, but we both gave you my dad’s name because of how hard and how long he believed in us.”

“He was only good with the whole free-spirit thing until I dug up his garden.” Stiles laughed. “I remember, pretty clearly, being carried across the yard by my elbows and handed off to you.” 

John grinned. “I think I gave you about two cookies before dinner that day.”

Stiles laughed, then got up and rinsed his bowl in the sink. “I have to get to school. I made scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast for you. They’re sitting in the pan, warm them up if you want. And for the record, I wasn’t going to give them to you if you argued with me about any of this.” He smiled. “Bye, Dad.” 

John smiled fondly at Stiles. “Bye, son.” He said warmly. “Have a good day. If I’m asleep on the couch when you get back home, kick me and make me go upstairs.”

“Will do!” Stiles called over his shoulder, pulling the front door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow Stiles and Allison on tumblr! 
> 
> http://adderallandconverse.tumblr.com  
> http://deadlysilver.tumblr.com
> 
> Or you can ask some of the pack members questions
> 
> Allison - http://ask.fm/crossbowsandsilver  
> Stiles - http://ask.fm/adderallandconverse  
> Lydia - http://ask.fm/ofpythagorasandprada
> 
> If there's something you want to see in this series, leave us a comment! We can't promise everything, but we'll try our best to work things in.


	3. Scents and Sensibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Motivational speaker is not a good career choice for you.” Stiles remarked, turning his head to look up at her. “You’re like a modern day Eliza Doolittle. We need to find you a Henry Higgins.” 
> 
> Malia blinked at him. “I don’t know who either of those people are.”

_December 3, 2012_

Stiles had known that the moment was coming, but he thought he would have more notice, like a funeral march being played by the school’s orchestra, as he walked to his locker. Instead, he came face to face with Scott before first period. “Hey.” He glanced around, wondering if he could successfully trigger a panic attack in himself. At least, if that happened, Scott might be more sympathetic when he got the news. 

Scott raised his eyebrows, letting out an amused laugh. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“Well, remember how I told you I was going out of town about a week ago?” Stiles opened his locker and busied himself with putting his books for his first few classes in his backpack. 

“Oh, yeah.” Scott muttered. “How’d that go?” He stuffed his book and notebooks into his backpack as he spoke.

"I went to Paris. Just to help Allison pack." Stiles said quickly, then frowned at himself for automatically getting defensive. "But anyway, we had a talk about the fact that we're interested in each other, and we're dating now. I didn't want you to hear it from someone else."

Scott blinked once, then again slowly before turning to stare in bewilderment at Stiles. “You’re - huh? Wait.” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “You… and Allison? You’re what?”

“Dating. It’s this process where you go with a person to have dinner or see a movie, or sometimes go bowling. Or so I’m told.” Stiles murmured. So far, Scott was reacting better than Stiles had thought he would. He had been picturing something like Carrie’s prom night, only the bucket of blood would be coming from slashes that Scott inflicted on Stiles. 

“Oh.” Scott mumbled, his brows furrowing and staring down until he nearly went cross-eyed, looking at his feet. He blinked rapidly. “Oh. Um. That’s… that’s great, Stiles.”

Stiles beamed, but his smile faltered a moment later when he realized Scott didn’t really mean it. “Yeah, it is.” He closed his locker. “Hey, I’ll see you in class.” He walked down the hall, feeling a little dejected by Scott’s lack of enthusiasm. Allison was Stiles’ first girlfriend and he still couldn’t believe it, even nearly a week later. 

Scott slumped against his locker, feeling stunned and more than a little hurt. His fingers started to itch as his claws slowly forced their way out from his nails, then he let out a low growl, forcing back the shift. He pushed himself up, looking down the hall after Stiles, then turned and shouldered his bag, pushing his way down the opposite side of the hall. He didn’t particularly feel like sitting next to Stiles in class, especially when he realized that he’d completely missed the familiar scent that clung to Stiles like a second skin. That same scent had once wrapped itself around him, clinging just as tightly as it was clinging to Stiles, and Scott could have kicked himself for not spotting it before. He swallowed thickly and bolted for the doors, feeling his eyes start to sting.

Stiles watched the doorway of the classroom as he waited for Scott to appear. When the bell rang and his best friend still hadn’t made it, he knew that Scott was avoiding him. “Worse than I thought, then.” He muttered. 

“What is?” Malia asked him, dropping down into the seat next to his and frowning. “And where’ve you been for a week?”

“A week?” Stiles frowned back at her. “I was gone for four days, two of them were weekdays, but I’ve been here. It’s fine, I’m used to being invisible.” He shrugged. “Or I was, anyway. I told Scott I’m dating Allison. He’s not here. Obviously, he’s out buying us a set of goblets.” 

“It was exaggeration.” Malia grumbled. “English class. Whatever. Anyway. Who’s Allison again?” She frowned. “And why’s Scott buying you things? I’d buy you things. If I had money, I mean.”

Stiles smiled. “Allison is my girlfriend. She used to be Scott’s girlfriend, but they broke up more than a year ago. I started talking to her again about two months ago and I went to Paris to help her pack her stuff and move some of it back here. She’s, uh, I’m talking about her a lot right now. I’d apologize, but I’m not really sorry.” 

“I don’t understand why you’d apologize anyway.” Malia shrugged. “So you have a girlfriend now? Is that why Scott’s not here, because he’s mad that you’re dating her now? You need to introduce me to her. I’d like to see what it is about this girl that would make you and Scott piss a territorial circle around her.”

“There was no territorial pissing!” Stiles blurted, sinking down in his chair when he heard people around him laughing. He lowered his voice. “I thought you’d met her before, anyway. Didn’t you?” 

Malia scrunched up her nose, thinking. “Possibly? For, like, five seconds, maybe. I don’t think I did.” She was quiet for a moment longer, then shook her head. “Nope. Don’t remember her. When did she go to Paris, and why? Plus, you know, I spent a few months in Eichen House. Crazy girl that lived like an animal in the wild and everything.”

Stiles looked sympathetic. “First of all, you’re not crazy. You still need to adjust to human interaction, but considering that I still have problems with it, you won’t find any judgment coming from me. Or Kira. Or Scott. Lydia, maybe.” He smiled. “Lydia is like that. Anyway. Allison went to Paris because she was recuperating from what I did to her. Against my will, but still, it happened.” 

Humming, Malia’s lips curled into a smile. “I like Lydia. She’s blunt and she smells like strawberries.” Looking at Stiles, she added, “I understand. She was traumatized? And it wasn’t you that did it. Everyone keeps saying it was the no - nog - it was the damn fox demon that did it. You wouldn’t hurt anyone if you could help it. Unless they encroached on your territory or threatened your authority and your loved ones, and then you’d probably try to tear them down like a coyote going after a jackrabbit. Your Allison got hurt, and it was your body that gave the order to do it. But you would never hurt her. So it wasn’t you that did it.” She shrugged. “Simple as that.”

Stiles nodded. “That’s how I think of her. My Allison.” He agreed. “And you’re right, I don’t like anyone going after my people. The thing is -” He stopped talking when the teacher raised her voice and gave him a pointed glare, waiting a few minutes before he spoke again. “I can ask you things that everyone else would refuse to answer. First of all, if Lydia smells like strawberries, what do I smell like?” 

“Rain. Fresh-cut grass.” Malia blinked at him, tilting her head to the side and squinting at him. “Oranges? Why do you smell like oranges?” Her nostrils flared. “And soap.”

“Well, I’m glad I smell like soap.” Stiles laughed. “I don’t know why I smell like oranges, unless that’s Allison’s scent. Probably. Do scents change, though? Like, over time? I mean, you’d think that two people who are compatible would have scents that were good together, right? Strawberries and rain don’t really, so that makes _sense_ , and I wasn’t even trying for the pun there, but yeah. So if Allison smells like oranges and I smell like a lawn, that’s bad news, isn’t it?” 

“That depends.” Malia frowned. “Maybe the scent I was getting wasn’t so much fresh-cut grass as it was a…” She furrowed her brows, thinking. “A grove? Yeah. A grove. You smell like greenery. I think that’s it.”

“This is kind of a big deal to me.” Stiles murmured. “Do you realize that if this theory holds and a person’s scent can determine whether or not they’re good with someone else, you could make a lot of money starting your own matchmaking service? You’d have to lie and say it’s all about questions or something, but I can see it.” He nodded. “Anyway, yeah. one more thing. What does Scott smell like?” 

Malia thought about it for a second before saying, “Leather. Probably because of his jacket. The woods? And mint. He kind of smells like a Nautica ad sometimes, actually.”

“So nothing you’d pair with oranges.” Stiles tapped his fingers on his desk, sitting back and nodding to himself. He still wanted to be with Allison, hoped she still wanted to be with him, but any further evidence he could get to prove that he and Allison were right for one another was helpful, as far as he was concerned. 

Malia smirked. “Are you planning to challenge Scott? I’m pretty sure you have to be a werewolf if you want to take the Alpha title from him.”

"I don't want to be the Alpha." Stiles shook his head. "He got where he is on his own, Deaton said it was the first time in about a hundred years that it happened, and I'm proud of him for it. Just because he's hurt right now, that doesn't mean we've stopped being friends. More like brothers. Even if I could challenge him, I never would. I just want him to understand that I'm with Allison because she makes me happy, not because I'm trying to hurt him. If there's some kind of tangible proof that she and I are better for each other than they were, maybe he'll be more accepting?"

“Or it could send him into a downward spiral, possibly causing him to go feral.” Malia yawned. She glanced at Stiles’ face and added quickly, “But it’s always possible that he could be more accepting, too, yeah.”

“Thanks.” Stiles muttered, not meaning it at all. He groaned and put his head down on his desk. 

Malia patted the top of his head. “It’s okay. If it helps at all, I don’t think he’d try to rip your lungs out of your chest to get to your heart. He seems to have more affection for you than that.”

“Motivational speaker is not a good career choice for you.” Stiles remarked, turning his head to look up at her. “You’re like a modern day Eliza Doolittle. We need to find you a Henry Higgins.” 

Malia blinked at him. “I don’t know who either of those people are.”

Stiles laughed. “Okay. Eliza is this woman that doesn’t know how to act in modern society, which was different at the time than this is. Anyway, these two guys made a bet about her, and one of them... the guy named Henry was supposed to make her into some kind of societal princess or something, I think? But he fell in love with her.” 

Flinching, Malia let out a low sound in her throat, half-growl and half-whine. “And you want to find someone like that for me? Should I throw you into a wall now or later?”

“I don’t get to vote for ‘neither?’ Because I like neither of those options.” Stiles frowned. 

“Maybe. But only because you’re tolerable, and I don’t usually want to hit you like I want to hit other people.” Malia snorted.

“That’s comforting. Sort of.” Stiles sat up again. “Why does it freak you out to be with someone, in a relationship?” 

“Who said it freaks me out?” Malia snapped defensively, flashing her eyes at Stiles as though in warning. “I never said it freaks me out. I never said anything of the sort. I don’t want to be in a relationship, that’s all there is to it, the end.”

“Okay!” Stiles was relieved when the bell rang. “At the rate I’m going, I’m sure I can piss off the rest of the pack by lunch.” 

Malia smirked at him. “I give it ‘til third period.” She reassured him and patted his arm this time. “Really, though, I’m not - I don’t want a relationship.”

“You’re one of the few people that doesn’t.” Stiles said gently. “That’s why I was a little surprised. That’s all.” 

“Okay.” Malia nodded, standing up and eyeing him carefully. “So now that that’s clear, we should probably leave, because the next class is getting ready to come in.”

Stiles nodded and smiled, following Malia out into the hallway. “I’ll introduce you to Allison soon.” 

“Okay.” Malia said again, and nodded back as she quirked a grin at him. “I’m looking forward to it. She wouldn’t mind if I take a whiff of her, would she?”

“She may be a little weirded out. But I can explain it beforehand and let her know. That should make it less weird.” Stiles grinned. “I really do think this could work.” 

“Well, she’s been around weres before, right? If she’s been with you guys for as long as you say she has?” Malia nodded. “I don’t think she’d be too bothered by me sniffing her. If she is, I’ll back off.” She grinned faintly at Stiles. “You think so, huh?”

Lydia walked over to Malia and Stiles, giving them curious looks when she heard a little of the conversation. “Going around sniffing people is considered rude and definitely not something that should be happening. And _weres_ is inaccurate. _Were_ means man, so you’re really just asking if Allison, who I’m assuming you’re talking about, has been around other people. The answer to that is yes.” 

“Wolves, then. _Weres_ is simpler to say than _werecoyote_.” Malia sidled up to Lydia with her eyes glinting delightedly. Her nostrils flared as she approached the other girl. “Would it be considered less impolite if I asked you if I could sniff you?” She asked hopefully, looking like she was two seconds away from diving face-first into Lydia’s shoulder.

“Go right ahead.” Lydia nodded, standing perfectly still. She glanced over at Stiles. “Why do you want Malia sniffing your girlfriend?” She laughed. “Do you think she’s on drugs? I already wondered that same thing, considering she’s interested in you.” 

Stiles started to pout, but shook his head and frowned at Lydia. “It’s just this idea that I had, that maybe two people can be matched up by their scent. Malia says I smell like rain and grass, or something like it, and that I also smell like oranges, but I said I thought that might actually be Allison’s scent.” 

“What do I smell like?” Lydia looked intrigued. 

Malia growled happily and draped herself on top of Lydia’s back, nuzzling the girl’s neck. “Strawberries.” She murmured, breathing deeply. “I like strawberries.”

Lydia’s eyebrows raised as she tilted her head to look at Stiles, her expression making it obvious that she expected him to do something about the werecoyote cuddling her in the middle of the hallway. 

Stiles grinned. “You can handle this, right?” He saluted her and walked away, laughing to himself when he heard her yell after him in protest.


	4. December Never Felt So Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles picked up his phone and sent Scott a text. ‘You might want to come back. Your dignity is all over the floor of my room.’ 
> 
> The reply took some time to come, but when it arrived it was bitter and annoyed. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know who this actually is. All I have listed for this number is Supreme Dickhead.’
> 
> Despite the situation, Stiles laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from a line in Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson.

_December 3, 2012_

**Stiles:** @allison This is a little late, but... Happy December!

 **Allison:** You too! I'm excited. I love December.

 **Stiles:** Christmas is going to be awesome. 

**Allison:** I'm definitely agreeing with you, there. What do you want for Christmas, mister? I used to have all of my shopping done by, like, September and I only have my dad's and Jackson's and Isaac's and Lydia's and I need *yours* now, okay? So be awesome and tell me what you want.  <3

 **Stiles:** I'm pretty sure replying to this is supposed to be easy. I just can't think of anything I want. It doesn't count as a gift for you to spend time with me, but that's all I can think of. 

**Stiles:** What do you want?

 **Allison:** @Stiles Well, now I seem to be having the same problem. New CDs and movies, I guess?

 **Allison:** Spending time with you was already a given for me.

 **Stiles:** Okay, I have a plan for you now. 

**Allison:** Oh, yeah? Maybe we can plan together?

 **Stiles:** Not for this. Where are you right now?

 **Allison:** At my counselor's office trying to get my stupid schedule sorted. Where are you?

 **Stiles:** Nowhere in particular. 

***

Stiles finished organizing everything the way he wanted it, even though he knew Allison would probably just rearrange the contents of the box. He just didn’t want to have everything look sloppy and thrown together, no matter how accurate that might have been. Their conversation about Christmas gifts had sent him scrambling a little, and he knew he would just piss Scott off even more than he probably already had, but he couldn’t help himself. He had picked up a pencil box for Allison and filled it with pencils, pens, and one of those tiny sharpeners. He had made sure she wouldn’t end up running into him, which was too likely in a town this size, while he was out buying everything. 

Scott bounded up the stairs after letting himself into the Stilinskis’ house. Knocking obnoxiously at Stiles’ bedroom door, he pushed his way inside a second later and blinked owlishly at the sight in front of him. “You’re back. What are you doing?”

“Um, you saw me at school this morning.” Stiles remarked, glancing up at Scott as he closed the pencil box. “I’m giving Allison a present. Well, one of about twenty-five, anyway. If I can figure out how to make that work. If you came here to kick my ass, can we at least go into the kitchen or the back yard? I don’t want to have to explain blood on the carpet.” 

“I meant you’re back here. Here, at the house. I don’t know, I figured you’d be hanging out somewhere else. With Allison.” Scott frowned deeply. “I _should_ kick your ass. I really, really should. Not hard enough to make you bleed, but I should.”

“Because...?” Stiles prompted. He closed the pencil box and set it on his desk, then looked up at Scott again. “I want the words to actually leave your mouth. It’s not exactly fair of you to come over here and threaten me without telling me why.” 

“Because I love Allison. I’m still in love with her, and you’re a dick.” Scott blurted, folding his arms over his chest with a scowl.

Stiles knew it was an inappropriate reaction, but he smiled. “You’ve had time to move on, and you haven’t. I understand, kind of, how you feel about her, since I’m getting there, too. But she broke up with you a year and a half ago and I’m not doing this to hurt you. I like her. She likes me. We’re not going to be apart just because you’re running around in Pull-Ups. Anyway, what would you have done if I hadn’t been home?” 

Scott’s nose twitched a little, and he glared at Stiles. “I didn’t think that far.” He muttered. “You can stop smiling anytime now. I’m really pissed at you, dude, it’s not funny.” He slumped against the wall. “Allison was supposed to come back to me. We’re supposed to find our way back to each other.”

Stiles sighed. He didn’t want to give Scott any false hope, he wanted to keep dating Allison. But he couldn’t stand seeing his friend upset, either. “Listen, if the two of you are meant to be together, then what she and I have won’t last. But I don’t think you should hold your breath.” He sat down on his bed. “Scott. I _like_ her. I’m not going to break up with her, just to make you feel better. That would make all three of us miserable, and the only reason you feel that way is because you haven’t moved on.” 

Scott shook his head. “I don’t understand this. You never showed any interest in her before. Why now? Why do you have to -” He stopped and turned away, kicking at the wall. He winced when the crown molding at the bottom cracked and broke off.

Stiles got to his feet without even realizing he was standing up. “Get out.” His voice was shaking with barely-controlled rage. This bedroom had been his since the moment he came home from the hospital, and his mom had helped him repaint it when he was five and insisted that it had been decorated for babies, and that he was a big kid and didn’t need a night light anymore. “Get over your issues and then we can talk.” 

Scott stared at Stiles for a moment, then scowled. “Fine.” He snapped. “It’s not like I need the kind of friend that would go after my girlfriend or gives more of a shit about what his room looks like than our stupid friendship, anyway.” He stomped out, slamming the door after him.

“Fuck.” Stiles muttered. He picked up his phone and sent Scott a text. ‘You might want to come back. Your dignity is all over the floor of my room.’ 

The reply took some time to come, but when it arrived it was bitter and annoyed. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know who this actually is. All I have listed for this number is Supreme Dickhead.’

Despite the situation, Stiles laughed. The insult might as well have come from him, since he had taught Scott similar scathing remarks. He would be miserable about the whole thing later, but he had a gift to give Allison. He grabbed the pencil box and carried it out to his Jeep, driving to the school lot to see if she was still there. He wanted to be angry, but he hadn’t forgotten how it felt when he realized Scott and Lydia had been making out instead of Scott’s insistence that he had talked to her about Stiles’ feelings for her, and he had never actually dated Lydia. Scott could be mad, at least for a little while, but he was eager for the situation to resolve itself. 

Allison was gathering her things, preparing to leave the counselor’s office with a sigh. She should have gotten used to this sort of thing, just based on the number of times she’d changed schools in the past, but it was somehow more difficult this year than it had been before. Maybe it was because it was her final year. She shook her head and left the room, heading toward the front door of the building.

Stiles stood up from the bench he was sitting on, at the front of the school. He smiled at Allison. “Hey. I got you something.” He held it out to her. “I usually take the time to wrap things, but Sc- I didn’t have time. Maybe the next thing I get you, though.” 

Allison pretended she didn’t hear the slip, and stepped forward with a smile, taking the package and giving Stiles a soft kiss. “Hi. Thank you.” She looked at the box curiously, then glanced sideways at Stiles. “I can open it now, right?”

Stiles laughed and nodded. “Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal, I guess. I probably need to explain it once you see the whole thing.” He gestured for her to go ahead and open the pencil box. 

Allison smiled at him and kissed his cheek before she sat down and settled the box on her lap, opening it up with a furrowed brow. She blinked in confusion at the sight inside. "Pencils?"

“And pens, and an eraser.” Stiles added. “Maybe I’m overstepping here, or no... I know I definitely am, but I don’t care. When you met Scott, it was because he handed you a pen you didn’t even have to ask him for, and this is basically me trying to outdo my best friend. I probably should feel like an asshole about it, but it’s my way of saying that if you need me for anything, including making sure you have a pen when you leave yours at home, I’m here for you. And this is going in your locker, or else my awkward attempt at being cute was wasted.” He glanced at the plain black box, then looked up at Allison. “I promise that the other things I get you won’t be some kind of overwrite of what your relationship with Scott was like.” 

Allison stared at him, looking vaguely stunned, and stared down at the pencil box again before she set it to the side, stood up, and flung herself at Stiles. Her hands cupped either side of his face as she dragged him into a kiss.

Stiles kissed back, putting his hands on Allison’s waist, feeling more than a little overwhelmed. He had put a lot of thought into the gift for her, even though he felt like it barely rated a four, on a scale of one to ten for Christmas presents. Even so, he had expected anger from her and a lot of verbal backpedaling on his part. It seemed like he was doing that far too often, for just about everything else in his life. 

Allison closed her eyes, huddling firmly against him, her hands tracing a line over his cheek and jaw. “I don’t know why I reacted so strongly.” She whispered. “I know I should be annoyed, but I’m not. What you said - making sure that you’re here for me - I just - thank you. Thank you, Stiles.” She lifted her chin up to kiss him again, slower this time, her lips parting and lingering against his.

“You’re welcome.” Stiles mumbled when he took a moment to breathe. “But I know it was terrible. The pencil box and the reason for it, and everything. I mean, not the major reason. The minor one. We’re probably going to need to talk about that at some point and believe me, I’ll kick myself later for being a buzzkill. I'd rather be kissing you, but we have time for that. Or at least, I want us to.” He took a step back and sat down, reaching out for Allison’s hand and pulling her toward him. “Scott’s reacting worse than I thought he would. He broke my room. Part of it, at least.” 

Allison blinked, willingly going toward Stiles and even lifting up until she could settle herself into Stiles’ lap, her arms going around him. “Scott broke your room? Because of us?” There was the barest glint of amusement in her at the idea of Scott being angry enough about anything to lash out at something that couldn’t fight back, but the rest of her was growing cold with annoyance. “What the hell, Stiles? Why would he do that? Why would he ever think that doing that is a good idea?” She bent her head to kiss the side of his head and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry he took his feelings out on your room.”

“Me too.” Stiles murmured, glancing up at her. “But I think I can forgive him for it. I already have, anyway. You remember when he made out with Lydia?” He started laughing and put his forehead down on her shoulder. “I was furious and she and I were never even going to be together, no matter if I had a five year plan or a twenty-five year plan. I get that now, but at the time, I wanted to make him suffer. It was while he was still trying to learn to control himself as a werewolf, and I cuffed him to his radiator and set a dog bowl down in front of him, and filled it with water. I don’t even remember what I said to him at the time, but I really don’t think it was nice.” 

Allison put a hand over her mouth, hiding her grin, but the sound of a giggle still escaped her throat. “I shouldn’t be laughing about that, but I am, because he broke your room and acted like a doof.” She rested her head on top of Stiles’ head, snuggling against him. “You forgive him for it? Really?” She asked gently, her hand running gently over his hand. “I don’t want to come between you two. And you’ve been friends a lot longer than I’ve even been in the picture. I feel bad that I used to date Scott and that the person I’ve moved on with is his best friend in the world, but I don’t regret you. Ever. I won’t.” She looked down at him seriously, then smiled and touched her forehead to his.

“If he can’t be happy for me, then something’s wrong.” Stiles spoke quietly. “Not ‘get out the weapons’ wrong, but I’m not naive enough to think he’ll be around me forever.” He sat up a little and looked at Allison. “I’m really not the most moral person and I think everybody knows that about me. Scott’s mom gave up a long time ago on him having better friends. You know, he’s practically like the North American King Arthur, anyway. He didn’t pull a sword out of a boulder, but he became an alpha all by himself. I guess that makes us Lancelot and Guinevere, if we’re sticking with this whole thing. The point I’m making, however badly, is that one day, he’ll have an entire group of friends that I don’t even know, because everybody likes Scott. He’s nice. I’m not nice. Ditching me is pretty much imperative, after we graduate.” 

Allison shook her head. “He loves you.” She said firmly. “He could get as many friends as he wants, after high school, after college, after we’re all workaholics and married or paranoid old cat people. It won’t change the fact that you were the one who was there for him when your mom passed, or when his dad left, and it doesn’t change the fact that you were the one that kept an extra inhaler in your backpack for him _specifically_ , just in case something ever happened to the one he already had. And I think it’s already fairly obvious that even if I was Scott’s ‘forever,’ he isn’t mine.” She cupped his jaw. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to look at you, or feel about you the way that I do. Maybe I don’t want - or need - nice. I’m not exactly nice myself, in case you missed it, Stiles.”

“You’re nicer than you give yourself credit for.” Stiles tilted his head a little to kiss Allison again. “I haven’t changed my mind about you. Or us. I want to see where this goes.” He smiled. “Even if Scott never manages to get his head out of his ass, I’m not ending things with you just to appease him.” 

“I won’t, either.” Allison murmured, smiling at him. “I think we could be really, really good. I won’t flaunt what we have in front of Scott, but I’m not giving you up.” She kissed him back, curving against his chest.

Stiles wrapped an arm around Allison’s waist, looking up at her again a moment later. “Do you need me to drive you back to the apartment, or is Lydia supposed to come get you?” He was already planning to go to the hardware store downtown and pick up a few things, so that he could fix the molding in his room. He just hoped his dad hadn’t come home early. 

“I was planning to drive back,” Allison said reluctantly, her fingers tracing shapes lazily on Stiles’ arm. “What were you planning on doing?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles murmured, distracted by Allison’s touch. “I need to fix the, uh, thing. My room. Why?” 

Allison was silent for a while before admitting, “I really kind of want to spend more time kissing you.”

Stiles nodded. “Okay, then that’s a thing we can do. Definitely. Do you want to just drive your car over to my house, then?” He was still awestruck that she was interested in him. 

Allison smiled faintly. “Is your dad going to be there, or is he at work?” She asked him, starting to stand up.

“He’s supposed to be at work, but he likes to come home early and bug me about college applications. I’ve got one due in a few days and the essay portion drives me nuts. I’ve never been good at those. Well, okay. I’m good at them, as long as I can talk about a topic I want to talk about.” Stiles rambled. 

“Well, maybe I can help you a little bit with that.” Allison told him, and sidled close, grinning playfully. “I’m pretty sure I can get you to ramble about a few things.”

Stiles hoped he wasn’t blushing as he smiled back at her. “I’d be more than happy to ramble with you.” He laughed. “Okay, that was awful. I’m sorry. Let’s just go to my house and we’ll... figure out what we’re doing when we get there.” 

“Deal.” Allison grinned, rubbing her thumb over his palm. “I’ll see you in a little bit, then.” She told him, and then tugged him down to press a firm kiss to his cheek before she started toward her car.

Stiles smiled to himself as he walked back to the Jeep, deciding to put twenty dollars into an envelope and label it ‘2027.’ Just in case. The thought reminded him that he still needed to find a job and pay Allison back, whether she wanted the money or not, since it was the right thing to do. Also because his dad would probably throttle him, if he didn’t. He knew that the local stores were hiring holiday help, so he had a good chance of someone in one of those places hiring him.

Allison couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she climbed into her car, peering out of the window at Stiles before grinning and putting her car into gear. She drove toward Stiles’ house and pulled into the driveway not long after, relieved when she didn’t spot the Sheriff’s squad car.

Stiles glanced over his shoulder at Allison as he unlocked the front door. He shoved his keys back into his pocket, wondering if Allison was coming over to have sex with him. It was pretty early in the relationship, but he had no plans to complain if that was what she wanted. 

Following Stiles into the house, Allison slipped her hand into his and sidled up against him, snuggling against his side. “Couch or bed?” She asked.

“I think that depends on what you were planning.” Stiles murmured, smiling nervously at her. “I’m new to all of this, I’m not good at reading nonverbal cues.” 

Allison looked at him for a moment. “Just snuggling and kissing,” she said, and blushed faintly. “Sorry. I mean, unless you were thinking - we could do the other thing. If you wanted to, I mean, but I’d…” She squeezed Stiles’ hand. “I’d kind of like to wait a little longer. I just - I sort of fell into it with Scott. I don’t want to do that with you. I don’t want to rush what we have and end up losing you over it.” Her expression was worried, a little fearful, like she was terrified of Stiles’ response. She swallowed with difficulty.

Stiles smiled at her again, this time in relief. “Good. I mean, eventually, we can. But barring another situation where some psycho wants to sacrifice virgins, I’m not in a hurry.” He put his arms around her and hugged her. “You know, maybe one day we’ll both be able to explain something without mentioning Scott.” 

Allison curled herself against his chest, tucking her head just under his chin. She smiled a little. “Maybe one day.” She agreed. “But I think we’re still a long way off.” She lifted her head a little to kiss him. “It’ll happen, though.”

“We’re probably better off staying down here on the couch.” Stiles murmured. “Even if we went up to my room and left the door open, my dad would still be suspicious.” He sat down on the couch and held his arms out. “Now come over here.” 

Allison moved over to him, climbing into his arms and winding her arms around his neck. She settled in his lap, ducking her head and leaning forward to kiss him.

Stiles smiled and tilted his head back against the back of the couch to kiss Allison. He was definitely enjoying himself, but he was starting to wonder if their relationship was already somehow devolving. As much as he liked kissing and wanted to one day progress from it, he missed talking to her for hours, like they had when that was the only thing they could do. 

“You’re thinking.” Allison murmured, pulling back slightly to look at him. “I can tell just by looking at you.” She sounded more curious and amused than anything else, and she stopped kissing him to rest her head on his shoulder. “What is it?”

“It’s stupid, especially coming from me. I mean, a teenage guy. I wasn’t belittling myself as an individual. My whole gender’s at fault for the well-deserved stereotypes.” Stiles murmured. “I just want to keep talking to you. Like we were, only we don’t have to use our phones for it.” 

There was a moment of silence, and then Allison slid carefully off of Stiles’ lap and settled back against the couch next to him. She didn’t let go of his hand. “I think there’s a significant difference between talking to each other in person, and talking to each other on a chat app.” She murmured. “And I think that sometimes, it’s easier to talk when you aren’t face to face, like we are. I pretty much just want to make sure that my lips are always able to be close to yours, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk to you. I love talking to you. I don’t want to lose that part of our relationship, either. But I also want the chance to kiss you, and kissing you is a novelty that hasn’t quite worn off for me yet, you know? You aren’t - what you said, it’s not stupid. I don’t think anything you say is stupid.”

“I just want to make sure that when the novelty does wear off, you won’t get bored with me. I want us to be able to talk.” Stiles looked nervous. “But I do like the kissing. The kissing is great.” 

“I wasn’t bored with you before we started seeing each other.” Allison told him, and smiled softly, leaning against him. “I won’t get bored with you now. The kissing is _amazing_ , but that’s not all there is to us.”

“I just want to be able to get you things based on what I know about you from things you’ve said to me, not to Scott, or to me, for Scott.” Stiles explained. “And believe me, I know more about you than I really should.” He smiled gently. “I probably even have an unfair advantage, when it comes to figuring out gifts for Christmas and your birthday.” 

“Oh, yeah?” Allison smiled. “I probably don’t want to know how you know, do I?” She asked him, leaning against him with raised eyebrows.

“I’ll give you one guess.” Stiles murmured. He kissed her and pulled back again to look at her. “But the great thing is that it’s been almost two years since you met Scott, so you’ve had time to change your mind about a lot of the things you told him you like. See, maybe it’s not the right way to think of it, but I don’t care. _Scott’s_ Allison was just learning what it meant to be a hunter and had a lot of stuff coming at her at once. You, on the other hand? You’re _my_ Allison. You’ve had time to see more of the world and decided to come back here. Things might be a little crazy in six months or so, when we’re spending our last summer as irresponsible teenagers and we have to figure out college. But it’s going to be crazy for all of us, and I want to be with you when you become _that_ Allison, too.” 

A small, awed noise escaped Allison’s throat, and she cooed at Stiles before she kissed him. “The way you see things… I don’t understand how I never saw you before. I feel like I should have.” She took his hand and brushed her lips over the back of it. “I _am_ your Allison. I want the chance to be that future Allison with you, too. I want to be with current Stiles, and future Stiles and -” She trailed off, nodding. “Yeah. I’m yours.”

Stiles put his arms around Allison’s waist as he looked at her. “What is future Allison going to be studying in college? What kind of career is she going to have?” He had been looking primarily into local colleges, not wanting to be too far away from Beacon Hills. Still, he had a few colleges he saw as ‘daydream schools,’ since he didn’t think it was very realistic to think he would end up in one.

Allison shook her head, settling her hands on top of his forearms with a smile. “Future Allison would know better than current Allison. Current Allison is still young and dumb and kind of panicking about things like college.” She went silent, then added, “But… I’ve always kind of wanted to…” She laughed in embarrassment. “I want to be like your dad. My dad’s amazing. I love him, I really do, but the way that we do things… I want a legal avenue for it. And your dad’s always been so cool. He’s just a genuinely good person. I want to be like that. I want to have the law on my side and be able to really protect people like that.”

Stiles looked just as amazed as Allison had a moment before. “I’m going to get a degree in something eventually, I haven’t decided what yet, but first... I’m doing the training program to become a cop. Would you want to sign up with me?” 

Allison nodded, her face soft. “I absolutely would. The entirety of the Beacon County Police Department couldn’t stop me.”

“They would be dumb to try.” Stiles nodded back at his girlfriend. He tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her back onto his lap, kissing her as he lifted a hand to the back of her neck. 

Allison let out a delighted laugh, slipping her arms back around his neck as she kissed him back, her lips nuzzling against his before she brushed their foreheads together. “Really dumb. So, so dumb.” She agreed.


	5. Business as Usual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What did you think about Stiles when you first met him?” Lydia prompted. “Or did you think about him at all?” 
> 
> Allison shook her head, amused. “I thought he was a hyperactive, funny guy that probably was out of his mind, but beyond ‘Scott’s best friend,’ I never really… _thought_ about him that way.” She fidgeted and took another sip, flushing. “I did think he was kind of cute.”
> 
> “I heard a rumor back then, but I never bothered telling you because I didn’t think it mattered.” Lydia smiled across the table at her friend. “And my sources don’t lie to me, so rumor isn’t the right word for it. Stiles said you were beautiful on the day you started going to school with us.” 
> 
> Allison blinked, her cheeks going red. “He said I was beautiful? My very first day in Beacon Hills?”

_December 4, 2012_

Stiles still couldn’t stop smiling when he was at his locker the next morning, getting his things together for the first few classes of the day. He was thinking about what life would be like in another year or two. He would be dating Allison, maybe even living with her in an apartment in Derek’s building, and he assumed Derek would let them live there rent-free. Between college classes and getting to actually work as a deputy, he didn’t think he would ever be bored again. 

Scott shuffled down the hallway, his hands shoved in his pockets with his backpack hanging across one shoulder, a sullen expression on his face. He looked up and spotted Stiles before blinking and nearly throwing himself into an open doorway in order to avoid the other boy. He poked his head out briefly and grimaced; he’d hidden himself just in time to spot Allison sneaking up behind Stiles, putting her hands over his eyes.

Allison leaned against Stiles’ back with a grin, stretching up onto her tiptoes to reach around her boyfriend. “Guess who.”

Stiles’ smile widened, but he feigned ignorance. “Demi Lovato?” He laughed and reached up to grab Allison’s hands as he turned to face her. “Hey.” 

Allison grinned up at him, squirming her hands out of his to throw her arms around his neck. “I’d love to be Demi Lovato. I just don’t think I can pull off the hairstyle and outfits.” She ducked her head forward to kiss him. “Hi.”

Stiles wrapped an arm around Allison’s waist and leaned back against his locker. “You can do whatever you want.” He argued playfully. “Except for when you’re actually a cop. I’m pretty sure their dress code isn’t that lenient. By the way, I got you a second present.” He glanced down at his backpack, on the floor beside him. “But since I’d have to let go of you to get it for you, it’s going to have to wait.” 

“You’re gonna spoil me,” Allison complained half-heartedly, leaning forward until she could kiss him again. “You really don’t have to get me anything. Not letting go of me right now is a better present.”

“Hardly.” Lydia scoffed as she stopped at her locker. She looked over at them and smiled. “I told you that the two of you are going to make me sick. I’m already feeling a little nauseated.” 

“I could find you a bucket.” Allison smirked, her eyes twinkling as she looked at her best friend. “Maybe some flat pop to settle your stomach?” She teased.

“As long as you’re also getting yourself a bottle of ‘shut the hell up.’” Lydia smiled. 

“Cute.” Allison stuck her tongue out, slipping her arms down until they were wound firmly around Stiles’ waist and attempting to sneak under his shirt. “I see that you’re on your own today. What happened to your furry little barnacle?”

“She’s not a barnacle.” Lydia protested. She realized her mistake a moment too late, and she busied herself with organizing her locker to cover up her embarrassment. 

“But you knew who she meant.” Stiles laughed. “That reminds me, it’s your turn.” He told Allison. Without taking his eyes off of his girlfriend or raising his voice at all, he spoke again. “Malia, can you come here?” 

Allison stared at Stiles in bemusement, her eyebrows raised, even as her giggles from Lydia’s reaction tapered off.

Malia trailed down the hall toward them, squinting at Stiles warily. Her eyes darted back and forth between Stiles and Lydia, settling every once in a while on the girl she hadn’t seen before darting back toward Lydia longingly. She started for the redhead, despite realizing why Stiles had called her to him, a low whine in her throat and her fingers twitching eagerly. “What?”

“This is Allison.” Stiles stopped short of waving a hand in Malia’s face to make sure she was paying attention. “The one you think might smell like oranges?” 

“Oh. Right.” Malia’s natural curiosity took over, and she glanced back at Lydia like she was asking the girl’s permission before she got right in Allison’s face and blurted, “Can I smell you? I need to get your scent right.”

Allison, looking utterly bewildered, threw a wide-eyed glance at Stiles and blinked. “Um. Sure?” She looked back at Malia, shifting. “What do I do?”

Malia waved Stiles’ hands away from Allison. “Just stand there and keep your boyfriend off of you.” She leaned in, tucking her nose just against Allison’s throat, and took a deep breath. Pulling back, she was quiet for a moment, thinking, and then looked at Stiles as she wormed her way back to Lydia’s side. “Oranges. Lemons. And grass. Fresh cut.” She smirked at Stiles.

Stiles smiled back at Malia. “Thank you.” He put his arms back around Allison and pulled her close for a kiss. “Apparently, we have complementary scents.” He explained. “So I think from now on, it’s a good idea to have Malia tell us if we’re wasting our time with people. I think even friendships could be formed this way.” 

Allison curled against Stiles’ chest, smiling. “So every person we meet, you’re going to make Malia smell them to decide if we should hang out with them?” She glanced at Malia in amusement. “I’m Allison,” she reintroduced herself. “Since I never actually said hi to you before you started smelling me.”

Malia waved her off, all but ignoring her in favor of playing with Lydia’s hair.

“We found Malia around the time that I...” Stiles frowned. “Around the time, just before you went to Paris. But she’s still having some trouble with adjusting to people. Nowhere near as bad as she was, though. I told her that we all have some trouble with them, from time to time.” 

“You’ve got that right.” Allison murmured, then put her hand on Stiles’ cheek, pulling him into a brief kiss. “More so now, I think. You definitely aren’t alone, Malia.”

Lydia peered toward the doorway that she had seen Scott duck into, wondering if she should say something, when her smile faded as Kira approached the small crowd gathered near the lockers. She wanted to like the kitsune, really. It just seemed like Kira was far too innocent for someone their age, even after everything they had gone through, and it unnerved Lydia to be around the other girl. 

“Hi.” Kira smiled, practically pushing Stiles aside as she greeted Allison. “I didn’t know you were coming back.” 

Allison smiled back. “I kind of kept it from everyone. The only people who knew were Lydia and Stiles. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m great.” Kira nodded. Her smile faded. “Well, I would be great. But I’m moving back to New York.” 

“Oh.” Allison frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that. Why?” She asked.

“Well, I like Scott.” Kira explained, glancing around nervously to see if the werewolf was close enough to hear her. She wrinkled her nose when she realized it probably wouldn’t matter, anyway. She started talking faster, feeling embarrassed. “So I keep hoping he’ll notice me and maybe like me back, because he smiles at me a lot and I thought that was a good sign. And then my parents put a ‘For Sale’ sign in our front yard and I cut it in half with my sword and they took it and hid it while I was at school. And my tail. So I can’t have either of those back until after we move, now. And I’m grounded.” 

Allison winced. Her parents had done the same thing to her a few years ago, only it had been her crossbow and her cell phone that had disappeared until after the move. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say, except that. I just - we’ve got that in common, at least?”

Lydia turned her back to Allison, Stiles and Kira as she started fixing Malia’s hair. She was trying not to smile. She knew it was rude, but the only reason that Kira had become part of their circle of friends was because she intruded on a conversation they were having and decided it meant she was welcome. Lydia didn’t accept people that easily. She never had... other than Allison. 

Malia’s eyes darted up and around, trying to find a way to see what Lydia was doing. She fidgeted, not really caring about the conversation the others were having. It was meaningless to her - her attention had already been soundly captured by Lydia, and beyond her, Malia thought the apocalypse could probably hit and she honestly wouldn’t care. Grumbling, she pressed against Lydia insistently.

“No.” Lydia muttered. “You have a little more you need to figure out before you should even consider developing feelings for anybody. I have to say that I don’t mind the attention, but I’m not so sure I’m ready for this sort of thing.” 

Malia scowled. “But…” She started, then growled under her breath. “No feelings. Just like the way you smell, and I think you should have more of my scent on you.” She mumbled, and ducked away.

Lydia stared after Malia, feeling bewildered. She knew what someone with a crush looked like, but she was willing to accept that maybe she had gotten it wrong about Malia, since the other teen was more tactile than anyone else Lydia had ever known, including Stiles (who she sometimes thought might have been raised by wolves himself, if she hadn’t known the Sheriff and his wife better than that). 

Allison’s attention was caught by the younger blonde girl, and she looked back at Lydia, frowning. “What was that about?”

“She wanted me to smell like her.” Lydia murmured. 

Stiles smiled. “That’s adorable.” He looked worried when Lydia started walking away. 

Lydia stopped in front of the doorway of the classroom Scott was hiding in. “You’re behaving maturely today.” She lifted her hand and crooked a finger at him. 

Scott shook his head. “I’m not going out there. I can’t control my claws and I’ll probably end up trying to attack Stiles.”

“Because of Allison?” Lydia already knew the answer to that, so she pressed on as she walked over to him. “What you’re going to do right now is go out there and be nice to your friend and your ex-girlfriend because you’re hurting both of them by being an insensitive coward.” 

“Well they don’t seem to care that them being together is hurting _me_ ,” Scott shot back, scowling at Lydia. “Why do I have to make myself be nice when I’m the one hurting?”

Lydia reached up and grabbed Scott’s earlobe, pinching it roughly between her index finger and thumb. “You and Allison broke up more than a year ago. She moved on from you the second she started seeing Isaac, and I don’t know if she was with anyone in Paris, but now she’s back here and she’s with Stiles, who has _never_ had a girlfriend or a boyfriend, I’ve heard things, and he can’t stop smiling at her. So what you’re going to do is watch them be happy together. You’re going to stop acting like a cave troll and go over there and tell Allison hello, and apologize to Stiles for messing up his room. Allison told me. After that, you’re going to stop treating Allison like she’s your personal property. No woman on this earth is the property of any man, and the second you get that through your head, I’ll let go of your earlobe. She’s _with_ Stiles, she _likes_ Stiles, and he likes her back. Don’t act like a loser, Scott. Nobody likes a loser. Or did you forget that?” She stared at him, waiting impatiently for his response as she tapped her foot. 

Scott yelped, his head jerking sideways in an attempt to alleviate the grip that Lydia had on his ear. “Ow, ow, ow.” He whined, staring at Lydia unhappily. “Fine. Fine, I’ll go over there and act happy. I’m not happy, but I’ll act it, and god, when did you get a freaking kung fu grip? I’ll be good, just let go of my ear!”

Lydia smiled and let go of Scott’s earlobe. She gestured for him to go ahead of her, bemused. She had expected him to argue or struggle a little more, but she wasn’t disappointed.

Scott stared at Lydia warily, rubbing petulantly at his ear as he backed out of the classroom. He shuffled down the hall toward Allison and Stiles, gazing behind him nervously at Lydia before he finally stopped behind his best friend and softly cleared his throat. “Um. Hey.”

Stiles gave Scott a wary look. “Hi.” He murmured in response. He glanced over at Allison, sighing when the bell rang. “Damn it.” He leaned in to kiss her goodbye, but pulled back a second later. “Oh wait, hold on!” He opened his backpack and held out a package of Starburst. “Day two. I told you it wasn’t a big deal.” 

Allison grinned down at the package, throwing herself forward at him to kiss him sweetly. “You’re cute.” She kissed him again, then forcibly pulled herself away, squeezing at one of his hands. “Go to class. I’ll see you later.” She didn’t acknowledge Scott at all as she turned to walk away.

Scott stared at them both in bewilderment. “Wait! I - please, hang on, just… I need to talk to you guys.”

Stiles reached out and grabbed Allison’s hand. “Come on, it’ll take two minutes.” He murmured. “If we don’t like it, we can both walk away. I swear.” 

Allison heaved out a sigh and shut her eyes, shaking her head. She said, “Alright. Fine. But only for you.” She turned to look at Scott, pursing her lips together. “Make it quick.”

Scott’s head jerked back in surprise, but he nodded and sighed. “I’m sorry.” He said, getting right into it. “Stiles, I’m sorry for breaking your wall. I didn’t mean to do it, it just happened. I felt awful as soon as the molding broke, and you got so mad. I just - I’m sorry.” He turned to Allison. “And… I’m sorry to you, too. I know you’ve moved on. I just… I didn’t want to give up the chance that we could be together again one day. And it hurt that you did, and you gave it up to my best friend.” He blanched. “That came out wrong, and totally wasn’t what I meant. I meant that you gave up my chance with you. Nothing else.”

Stiles was silent as he looked from Allison to Scott and back. He wasn’t sure what to say, which was happening more and more lately, so he just decided to wait it out and let them talk. 

Allison folded her arms across her chest, frowning at Scott deeply. She blinked and leaned back against Stiles. “You need to understand that I’m with Stiles. I chose Stiles. I didn’t do it to hurt you, or whatever else you thought. I chose Stiles because he talked to me and spent time with me, made himself available, made me laugh, and made me blush. I can’t see my life without him in it, Scott. I don’t want to think about my life without him in it.” She reached down to wrap her hand around Stiles’ hand. “I’m always going to care for you, but you aren’t my end game anymore.”

Stiles put his arm around Allison and squeezed her hand gently. He glanced at Scott again, but still couldn’t think of anything to say to his best friend. He had already said it to just about everyone willing to listen, anyway. He kissed Allison’s cheek. “You want to come over after I’m done for the day, here?” 

Allison smiled up at him, soft and brilliant, and nodded. “I’d like that.” She said quietly, and pressed a light kiss to his chin.

Scott watched them silently, his shoulders slumping. He turned to walk away. “Sorry again. I’ll keep my distance if you want. Or even if you don’t want. I’m… I’m happy for you two.” There was still hurt in his voice as he said it, but understanding as well, and even if it was just a tiny little fraction, there was sincerity and sadness, too. “I’ll see you guys later.” He stuffed his hands back into his pockets and walked away.

Allison watched him go, and then looked up at Stiles again. “It’ll be okay.” She murmured. “We’ll let him alone for a few days, give him time to really get used to this. I meant it when I said I didn’t want to parade what we have in front of him, but I’m not going to censor myself for his benefit, either. I care about you, and I’m going to show you that as often as I can.”

Stiles nodded and turned Allison toward him, kissing her again before he ran off to class, hoping to make it before the late bell rang. 

Allison smiled after him fondly and turned to face Lydia for a moment, watching the other girl’s face. She suddenly felt very tired. “What do you think? Did I handle that badly?”

“You handled it beautifully.” Lydia smiled. “I have a free period right now. Want to go grab coffee and talk about how stupid boys are?” 

“God, please, yes.” Allison breathed and let out a laugh, linking her arm with Lydia’s.

“Good.” Lydia murmured, walking toward the parking lot with Allison. “Because they absolutely are. Jackson knows that I know he’s coming back, by now. But he hasn’t tried to call me or email or anything.” She glanced at her friend. “And I think we can agree that Scott needed that intervention. Yes, Scott. I know you can hear me right now.” She smiled. 

From a distance, there was a soft whine before it cut off abruptly.

Allison glanced at Lydia, amused and sympathetic. She hugged her friend, resting their heads together. “I’m sorry he hasn’t tried to contact you. I really thought he would.”

“Well, maybe he’s trying to think of what he needs to say to me. If he’s even interested in that at all.” She got her keys out of her purse, eager to change the subject. “What classes are you taking next semester? More French? You should be fluent by now.” Lydia teased. 

Allison tilted her head back, laughing. “You’d think I would be. I’m getting there. Actually being in France helped a lot. No, but I’m taking American History, and pre-Calc, Chemistry and Literature, and I’m looking into filling at least one of my empty blocks with a work study with the Sheriff’s department.” She grinned. “And no, it actually has nothing to do with Stiles. I’ve wanted to do this for a while. My dad can claim that we, as Argents, are more honorable than most, but I know the truth. I… I definitely had my moments of being unhonorable. I want to make up for it, and I want to do it the legal way.”

“Dishonorable.” Lydia corrected idly. “But I agree that it’s a step in the right direction. I was intimidated by your violent behavior, sophomore year. So, you and Stiles are going to be joining the police force here at some point. Scott will more than likely be a vet or a doctor, and I’ll probably be teaching math. Or chemistry.” She unlocked her car doors, getting into the driver’s seat. 

Allison’s face fell as she climbed into the passenger side of Lydia’s car. “I’m sorry. I’m probably going to be apologizing about this for years.” She fastened her seatbelt and settled back with a sigh.

“No, you don’t have to. It’s good that you want to, of course, but you’ve already made up for it in all the ways you’re capable of.” Lydia hoped her words reassured Allison. She drove out of the student lot and toward downtown. “I’m really interested in the possibility of the pack expanding. It’s going to have to, eventually.” 

“Expanding how?” Allison tilted her head as she looked at her friend. “Like… just bringing more people in?”

“Possibly.” Lydia glanced at Allison. “Stiles hasn’t told you about Liam?” She frowned and shook her head. “That’s typical.” 

Allison shook her head, frowning. “Who’s Liam?”

“After you left, we had trouble with this abundance of hunters. They were coming after us. Well, not just us. Anyone that isn’t solely human was on the list. Except Peter Hale. You’ll notice a distinct lack of his presence. He’s locked up in Eichen House.” Lydia murmured, looking ahead for a parking space. She found one and parallel-parked her car, glancing over at Allison. “And there were Berserkers. They made the Oni look like Care Bears. One night, the Berserkers, a wendigo, Scott and Liam were all running around in the hospital and Scott ended up biting Liam to keep him from falling from the roof. Liam finally stopped hero-worshipping Scott, but he followed him around for a little while.” Lydia didn’t want to mention Allison’s aunt being murdered in Mexico, so she got out of the car and walked around the front of it, to get onto the sidewalk. “So the pack members these days are Scott, Stiles, me, Liam, Malia, and Derek. And you, since you’re back. It’s kind of funny that you got here just in time for Kira to be leaving, but I think that’s kind of how Beacon Hills just works.” 

“Someone goes, and someone else comes back.” Allison hummed, looking faintly stunned. “Scott bit someone?” She blinked as she got out of the car and followed Lydia with a sigh. “I wasn’t - how long was I actually gone? Because it feels like a year actually passed for all of this stuff to have happened.” She shook her head and huffed out a soft laugh. “Wow. So… You finally got Peter Hale put away.” Smiling at the other girl, she asked, “How’s that feel?”

“Amazing. Wonderful.” Lydia tilted her head, thinking. “Miraculous. At some point, you’re going to have to meet Liam. But there’s no hurry, especially since Scott needs time to adjust to you being back here.” 

“And that could take a while.” Allison agreed. She thought of something a moment later, and looked at Lydia. “Before I left, we were doing something in-depth, right? When we went to question Peter, and we snagged that picture of him? How did that turn out? Were we right?” Malia’s face danced in front of Allison’s eyes, and she furrowed her brow. “Is Malia really his daughter?”

Lydia nodded. “And the guys didn’t want to tell her. She was adopted by the Tates when she was a baby, and she accepted them as her parents, even after she knew the truth. But she saw the list with her name on it. It was a hit list or a dead pool or whatever you’d like to call it. And she was listed as Malia Hale. She went ahead and got it confirmed, but only because Peter’s money has just been sitting there for years and she wanted it to be used for something good, not the things Peter had in mind for it.” 

“That’s good of her.” Allison murmured. “What did she end up using it for?”

“The hospital and Eichen House, and some wildlife sanctuaries.” Lydia murmured. “Based on my recommendations. A lot of the non-profits don’t treat the animals very well.” 

Allison smiled. “That sounds amazing. At least something good is coming from Peter’s money.” She went into the coffee shop and sat down, pushing out Lydia’s chair for her before she did so. “What’s been going on with everyone else? If everyone else is Derek, I mean. Did his sister ever decide to come back?”

Lydia sat across from Allison. “So far, she hasn’t. I think she’s just more comfortable in South America. But last I heard, he was trying to convince her to come back after she finishes high school there. Derek’s been fixing up apartments in his building.” 

Looking surprised, Allison leaned forward. “Really? Why? Just for the extra income or something? I can’t really imagine Derek Hale needing more money.”

“I think it’s primarily for Malia and Cora.” Lydia mused, picking up a menu to look over the options. “But I think he wants the whole pack there. The last time he was surrounded by a pack, all in one place like that, he was about fifteen or sixteen.” 

Allison winced, grabbing her menu and holding it in front of her face. It was hard to remember sometimes that, despite her mother and father never having known anything about it, it was still the Argent family, the Argent name that had ruined Derek’s life. 

"Even if he did blame you, which he doesn't, everyone knows that you're not like the rest of your family." Lydia decided on a peppermint mocha latte and set her menu down, giving Allison a considering look. "Do you think the nemeton brought you here? The timing is almost too good. Kira's parents planned to move, and suddenly you decided to come back? Beacon Hills needs someone strong and powerful, and that would be you."

Allison gave Lydia a startled look, and her face started to fall. "Oh, God. I'm scared of what that means. It kind of seems like something the nemeton would do, though." She chewed on her lower lip, studying the menu before deciding her sweet tooth could only benefit from a salted caramel frappuccino, and set the menu down with a thwap. "Unless it was trying to play matchmaker with me and Stiles."

“As what, an apology for making you both suffer? Then where’s Scott’s reward? Unless it thinks, as much as a tree _can_ think, that being a true Alpha is reward enough.” Lydia shook her head. “No, the two of you getting together has to be your own doing.” 

Allison smiled faintly. “I like that idea better, anyway.” She murmured.

“I don’t really think a tree could be sentient.” Lydia ordered her drink when the waitress came over.

“But what could’ve done it?” Allison asked, frowning. She looked away from Lydia long enough to order her own drink, and then stared back at the redhead.

Lydia waited for the waitress to walk away before she spoke again. “You’re still thinking of a what, I’m thinking of a who. I don’t know, right offhand. But I do think it’s possible that you’re back here because something or someone influenced you. And I don’t mean Stiles.” 

“I was thinking a compulsion spell or something, actually.” Allison grimaced. “But that still leaves a ‘who.’ I don’t know, Lydia. What sort of person besides a witch can have the power to do that to someone else? And when could I have been hit with this… whatever it is? If that’s what it is, I mean.” She rubbed her forehead. “My head is starting to hurt.”

“Coffee will help.” Lydia murmured. “If someone was going to be able to use a compulsion spell on you, they would have to also be able to do it to Jackson, Isaac, your dad, Stiles and _his_ dad. Not to mention Jackson’s parents. The likelihood of that is slim. Not impossible, just not likely. Spells that target a person require something belonging to that person. I think you would notice someone asking for a lock of hair from each and every one of you. When did you start thinking about coming back here?” 

Allison thought back, then pulled out her phone and opened the chat app, staring down at it. She gave Lydia a small smile. “Not long before Stiles and I started talking. I was just thinking about it at first. Stiles just cemented it for me.”

“And you both think you found each other randomly?” Lydia looked pensive, going silent when the waitress brought their drinks over. “Thank you.” She murmured absently. “That only happens in movies.” 

“Well, it isn’t like it could have been planned.” Allison squinted at Lydia. She thanked the waitress and picked up her drink to take a sip. Her eyes went slightly wide and alarmed, and she pulled back from her drink. “Um. It couldn’t have, right?”

“I don’t know what I believe in, anymore.” Lydia sipped her latte and set the cup back down. “I’ll start researching it. Maybe we’re just paranoid.”

“Maybe.” Allison tapped her fingers on the counter, cradling her drink in one hand. She sighed. “I don’t want to find out that I’ve been manipulated into something, Lydia.”

“I know you don’t.” Lydia nodded. “None of us do. I just think we need to be prepared in case it’s a possibility.” 

“I’m kind of scared to see how much of a possibility that might be.” Allison told her. “At the very least, I just want to know that at least _part_ of it was my decision, because if it’s not…” She trailed off, staring at the table.

“What did you think about Stiles when you first met him?” Lydia prompted. “Or did you think about him at all?” 

Allison shook her head, amused. “I thought he was a hyperactive, funny guy that probably was out of his mind, but beyond ‘Scott’s best friend,’ I never really… _thought_ about him that way.” She fidgeted and took another sip, flushing. “I did think he was kind of cute.”

“I heard a rumor back then, but I never bothered telling you because I didn’t think it mattered.” Lydia smiled across the table at her friend. “And my sources don’t lie to me, so rumor isn’t the right word for it. Stiles said you were beautiful on the day you started going to school with us.” 

Allison blinked, her cheeks going red. “He said I was beautiful? My very first day in Beacon Hills?”

Lydia nodded. “Yes, he did. Even if... let’s say I’m right and there’s some kind of entity that’s managed to put all of us together, specifically. Is it really so terrible? I still like the same things I liked before you came back, and before you showed up the first time. I don’t think any sort of manipulation would be... no, manipulation is the wrong word, too.” She frowned. “But I guess it would be accurate.” 

“You could use coercion, I guess.” Allison murmured, her cheeks still glowing a soft red and a smile on her face.

Lydia laughed. “I have to stop teasing the two of you about making me sick. I think it’s great that you’re together.” 

“Thanks, Lyds.” Allison murmured softly, reaching out and squeezing her friend’s hand. 

“You’re welcome.” Lydia didn’t want to talk about it anymore just yet, but she was certain that she was on to something.


	6. Those Who Cannot Protect Themselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John opened the door in surprise, blinking at the two teens in front of him. “Hi, Allison. Stiles, son, what’s…” He trailed off when he saw the girl sprawled in Stiles’ arms. “Jesus. What’s going on? Come inside.” He reached for the child, gently lifting her into his arms and holding the door open for Stiles and Allison.

_December 10, 2012_

Over the next few days, Stiles gave Allison more gifts, including ones that made up for the days he had missed, at the beginning of the month. He finally had a job, for the first time in his life, even though it was temporary. He was wrapping presents downtown for anyone that wanted to have his assistance. Most of the customers were older people who couldn’t manage to wrap presents themselves, but he also had a group of little kids come in together, their parents gathered near the doorway of the building. Something about the season, even before he’d started dating Allison, always took the snark right out of him. After he finished with a box of Legos that a gap-toothed girl in pigtails had pushed at him, standing up on her toes and still struggling to reach the counter, he walked around it and crouched to hand the wrapped present to her, smiling in encouragement. “What do you want for Christmas?” 

The girl smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “I want everybody to be happy.” She stuck her fingers in her mouth, wiggling another loose tooth before she looked up at him when he stood up straight. “Are you happy?” 

Stiles nodded. “I am.” He walked back behind the counter, but returned with some extra stickers. When he had bought a pack of them to give Allison a few days before, he had only given her the sheet with snowmen on them. He kept the others, intending to put them on gifts for kids, but none of the parents seemed enthusiastic. He held the sheet of Santa stickers out to the girl. “These are for you.” 

She took the stickers, smiling brightly and motioning to him impatiently. “Hug, please?” 

Stiles looked around warily, hoping that the girl’s parents wouldn’t freak out as he knelt down this time, hugging her. She couldn’t have been more than four or five years old, as far as he could tell. 

She put her arms around Stiles and rested her cheek on one of his shoulders. “Thank you for the present. What do you want for Christmas?” She pulled back and studied him. 

Stiles thought of Scott’s expression every time he saw Stiles and Allison together. “I want everyone to be happy, too.” He murmured, smiling faintly at the little girl before he stood up. “Have a good Christmas, okay?” 

“I always do.” She grinned. She turned and skipped back toward the exit, following a couple of adults outside. After a moment, she walked back in and boosted herself up onto the display area, in front of the window. 

Stiles wrapped one gift after another, glancing up every few minutes to check on the tiny brunette. They were supposed to stop for the night at ten, but there were a few stragglers and he hoped one of them was her parent. When he finished with the last present and the man walked outside, only nodding to the girl sitting by the window, Stiles frowned. He walked over and sat down beside her. "Where are the people who take care of you? I saw you leave earlier."

"I'm by myself." She yawned. 

"Okay, I'm going to take you somewhere safe." Stiles murmured gently, not wanting to scare her. "Do you like superheroes?"

The girl nodded, staring back at Stiles as she feigned the innocence most children possessed. 

"Okay. My dad is kind of a superhero. He keeps this town safe from bad guys. I'm going to help him, one day. But I'm going to take you to see him, and he can find your... whoever takes care of you." Stiles had been overly cautious of referring to any kid's parents, plural, since he had lost his mom. 

"How come you're not a superhero, if your Daddy is?" She looked a little confused and skeptical, but mostly exhausted. 

Stiles paused, his phone in his hand, but he hadn't called anyone yet. He smiled at her. "Well, the world needs regular people, too. The superheroes wouldn't be very super if everyone could do something, and heroes have to save people. Like you and me." He leaned toward her, peering down. "But I know your secret."

"You do? What secret?" She was more awake now, her expression guarded. It was jarring to see on the face of a four year old. 

"You're a superhero, too." Stiles got up and held his hand out to help her down. He picked up the coat she had discarded earlier in the evening, crouching to help her put it on. 

Allison walked up to the shop, a box of muffins in her hands. She was hoping to surprise Stiles by walking him home and feeding him along the way as one of her own pre-presents, though she was fairly certain she still wouldn't be able to catch up with Stiles at this point. She was flattered and overwhelmed by the adorable gifts he'd already given her, each one making her grin and giggle like she was a child again. The muffins had been baked very carefully, by following a recipe of her mother's that she hoped she'd gotten right, and she approached the door, peeking in through the glass window. Her eyes widened and softened at the same time as she watched Stiles help the little girl into her coat. She blinked in surprise, backing up a little and feeling faintly stunned at the feelings that had all but burst inside her chest at the sight. She gulped. "Oh, boy," she sighed, and then approached the door again carefully, knocking gently on the glass with a smile.

Stiles looked up at the sound, then looked at the girl in front of him, who was eyeing Allison through the window. "She's a superhero, too." He smiled, standing up and taking her hand as he led her to the door, grabbing his coat as he ushered her outside. "What's your name?"

She glanced up at the sign on the building across the street. "Chloe Banks."

Stiles followed her gaze, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach as he saw the bank sign and realized the name was false. He wondered if she was a runaway. She wouldn't be the first he had encountered, but she was too young to be that clever without having learned it as a survival skill. "Okay, Chloe Banks. I'm Stiles and this is Allison, and we're going to take you for a walk to my house, so that you can meet my dad." He pulled his coat on and zipped it, turning his attention to Allison. "Hi."

Allison smiled at him, stepping forward to greet him with a soft kiss to the cheek. “Hi.” She replied softly. “I have something for you, but it can wait.” She bent slightly at the waist and held her hand out to Chloe. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Chloe grinned up at Allison as she shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” 

Allison straightened, smiling down at the young girl curiously. She turned back to Stiles and handed him the box, then gave him another kiss. “I hope you like them.”

Stiles opened the box, looking up at Allison and grinning before he lifted a muffin out of the box and bit into it. He remembered the muffins that Allison brought to school for herself, Scott and Lydia when she was still new. It wasn’t that she had forgotten him back then, as far as he could tell, it was just that she had probably been more concerned about her new best friend and new boyfriend. It hadn’t mattered, either way, since he had stolen a bite from the muffin for Scott. The muffin he was currently eating wasn’t as good as he remembered the other one being, but it wasn’t terrible. He took a second muffin from the container and handed it to the little girl. “Thank you, Allison.” 

Allison let out a relieved breath and smiled happily. “You’re welcome. There’s no way I’m going to catch up to all the gifts you keep giving me, but I’m going to keep trying.” She looked amused. “But I may not keep baking.”

Stiles looked embarrassed. “You’re not... the muffins really are good.” He murmured. 

Chloe giggled as she looked back and forth between them. The laugh turned into a yawn a moment later, and she blinked in surprise when Stiles picked her up to carry her the rest of the way. She put her head back down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. 

Allison felt a faint flutter in her chest and took a deep breath as she followed after Stiles. “She’s such a pretty little girl. Where are her parents? How did she even end up here?” She asked, her eyes soft.

“I don’t know.” Stiles answered all of Allison’s questions at once with that simple, yet complicated phrase. “She gave me a gift to wrap for her, and then I saw her leaving with some other people, but she must have come back in when I wasn’t paying much attention. I saw her there later and thought maybe one of the guys there was her dad, but he left without her, and he was the last customer of the night. She’s lying about her name, too. I asked her what her name was and she looked right at the bank before she said her last name is Banks. She’s maybe five, I think, just by looking at her. She could be four. Kids this young that have to lie for survival are... I mean, I’ve seen it before in my dad’s files, but never someone so small.” 

Allison sighed, reaching out to touch the girl’s hair gently, without thinking. “She’s in trouble, you think? Trying to keep a low profile, maybe. Someone might have taught her to lie about her name to make sure she doesn’t get discovered. Poor thing.”

“She doesn’t have any noticeable bruises and she’s almost too trusting of us, and we’re strangers. Maybe she figures whatever we could do to her, it can’t be worse than what she’s been through?” Stiles kept his voice quiet, shifting the girl’s weight in his arms when they stopped at a crosswalk. “It’ll be good for her when Isaac is back here and can talk to her. He would have a better idea of what to say than I would, anyway. I know that sounds bad, but you know what I mean. Right?” 

Allison nodded, looking almost wounded at the idea that anyone would want to hurt such a small girl, physically, mentally, or otherwise. “I know what you mean, yeah.” She wormed her arm through his, making sure that she didn’t jostle Chloe, and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. “Kids should never have to think like that, Stiles. I want to make sure she knows she’s got nothing to be afraid of from us.”

Stiles turned his head to look at her. “She’s going to have to stay at my house tonight, probably. The people that deal with this kind of thing are all home for the night, and they don’t start work again until around nine tomorrow. I was going to call you and Lydia, to see if one of you could take her until then, but I didn’t expect her to fall asleep. I think if she wakes up now and doesn’t see you or me, she might get scared. She’ll need something she can wear tomorrow and maybe pajamas, if we can wake her up long enough to get her to change her clothes.” He was grateful that he only lived a couple of blocks from downtown. It was colder than when he had left for the store, and Chloe, or whatever her name actually was, didn’t have a hat or gloves. He added them to his mental list of things to get her as he stepped up onto the porch and kicked the base of the door to get his dad’s attention, since he couldn’t reach for his keys. 

John opened the door in surprise, blinking at the two teens in front of him. “Hi, Allison. Stiles, son, what’s…” He trailed off when he saw the girl sprawled in Stiles’ arms. “Jesus. What’s going on? Come inside.” He reached for the child, gently lifting her into his arms and holding the door open for Stiles and Allison.

“She asked me to wrap some Legos for her around seven tonight.” Stiles murmured, guiding Allison in ahead of him with a hand on her lower back. He pushed the door shut behind him, but didn’t take his coat off. He knew he would be out in the Jeep soon enough. “I gave her some stickers because I’d brought a few sheets with me and none of the parents were letting me give stickers to their kids. I didn’t hear anyone objecting or anything, and she was practically struggling to reach the counter by herself. I guess I was kind of... I don’t know, I felt like I wanted to give her the stickers just because of that.” He shrugged. “I saw her leave with some people that I assumed were her parents, but she came back in when I wasn’t paying attention to the door, and she stayed over by the window, just sitting there and waiting. For me, maybe? We didn’t close up until quarter after ten and I figured I should bring her here. She wouldn’t tell me her real name, though. I’m kind of scared for her.” 

Allison touched Stiles’ hand and looked at John. “I got there not too long after close. She seemed so sweet, and she didn’t look like she’d be in hiding from anyone, but I think it’s possible that at least someone taught her to lie about her name. But she didn’t back away from us or anything. She shook my hand when I said hello to her, she yawned and looked a little stunned when Stiles picked her up to carry her, but she didn’t fight him - she just curled up and fell asleep.”

John frowned, pulling back a little to peer at the little girl. “Well…” He sighed. “She looks like she’s in good health, at least, but we can’t exactly be sure… I’m not going to be able to get anyone to check on her unless I go knocking on doors right now, and I can think of some choice words a few people would have for me if I even tried. It’s going to have to wait until tomorrow… But yeah, Stiles, you did the right thing bringing her here.” He looked his son up and down, then nodded approvingly. “Already planning to go get her some things, then? Take my credit card.” He nodded at the table where his wallet sat. “Do you want me to go with you two, or no?”

Allison smiled at the Sheriff. “I think we’ll be alright on our own.”

“We won’t take too long, I don’t want to know what’ll happen if she wakes up and we’re not here.” Stiles frowned. “She might be hungry, so we’ll pick up a late dinner, too.” 

“Sounds good.” John murmured, peering at Stiles closely. He paused, then said again, “But if you want me to come with you and bring her along, I will.”

Allison refrained from answering, this time looking to Stiles for his response.

Stiles stared back at his dad for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I know you’re tired. I am, too. But I think if Mom was here, she’d be in control of this whole thing and we’d both be gone already, getting a long list of whatever she wanted.” 

John huffed out a soft laugh and nodded, exhaling. “Yeah. Yeah, I think you’re right.” He handed Chloe back to Stiles carefully and reached for his coat, tugging it on and grabbing his wallet. “Do you want to take the SUV instead of the Jeep?”

“It would be easier, yeah.” Stiles glanced at Allison. “I’m sorry that we’re kind of deciding on things and expecting you to just go along.” 

Allison shook her head. “I don’t mind. I wouldn’t know the first thing about what to do, so I’m glad I’m at least with you two. Plus, I’ve got to learn to take orders.” She turned to grin at the Sheriff.

John snorted. “Uh-huh. Alright. Back out the door, guys.” He clapped his hands gently, grabbed his keys, and opened the door again.

Stiles carried Chloe back out to the driveway and eyed the SUV for a moment, wondering how to handle buckling her into a carseat that they didn’t have. After another minute of deliberating over his options, he climbed into one of the middle seats and tried to fasten the seatbelt around both of them. 

John paused, grimacing as he watched Stiles. “Dammit.” He muttered, then sighed. Once Renee had died, they’d cleaned out a lot of the old things that they’d had, but hadn’t been able to bring themselves to get rid of Renee’s things. Instead, they’d rid themselves of the things Stiles had deemed no longer necessary - such as his old carseat. He stepped forward, toward the SUV. “Stiles, put her in the middle and give her her own seatbelt, then sit to her side. Allison, sit on her other side, please.”

Stiles nodded and put Chloe in the middle of the seat, rubbing his eyes. He had a hard time finding the buckle for the seatbelt, and he was starting to get frustrated by the entire situation. 

Allison climbed in beside Chloe on her other side, buckling herself in and looking at Stiles worriedly. She touched the back of his hand lightly.

Stiles glanced up at Allison. “I can’t find the buckle for her.” He mumbled. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why anyone hurts their own kid or why they let her go outside without a hat and gloves. It’s freezing out here tonight. And the twisted thing is, I still can’t help wondering why they didn’t come back to get her. If she ran away, did they just not notice, or did they maybe not care? Were they _relieved_?” 

Allison’s heart hurt with every question Stiles asked, and wrapped her hand around his, squeezing tightly. “If they didn’t care, if they honestly didn’t notice, and they were actually relieved, then they don’t deserve her. But there’s still a chance that her parent or parents might be out there, that they might be killing themselves looking for her, that they’re completely heartbroken that she’s gone. Until we find them, though, _we’re_ going to take of her. We’re going to keep her warm and keep her safe.” She shifted as close as she could, ensconcing Chloe firmly against her side as she wrapped her arm around Stiles. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Stiles agreed, taking a deep breath and bracketing Chloe in on the girl’s other side. “We should wake her up, probably.” He looked doubtful. 

Allison stared down at the little girl for a moment, then smiled faintly, resting against Stiles. “Let’s just let her sleep for a little bit longer. We’ll wake her when we get to the store.”

Stiles smiled. “Okay.” He leaned a little more toward Allison and kissed her. 

Allison smiled softly as she kissed him back, her hand lightly moving to his cheek. She pulled back enough to rest her head in the crook of his neck, her other arm winding securely around Chloe.

John watched them in the rearview mirror, his hand frozen on the gear shift and his eyes wide, astounded. He could almost feel the hot pinch of nostalgic tears stinging at the corners of his eyes and the tightness in his throat. He took a deep breath, shaking his head and clearing away the thoughts of how very much like himself and his wife Stiles and Allison actually were, focusing instead on what needed to be done for the tiny girl sitting between them. He put the car in reverse.


	7. We Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If she isn’t, I want to see evidence to the contrary.” Scott shot at him, and couldn’t help grinning. “But dude, your kid time-traveled.”
> 
> “My alleged kid allegedly time-traveled.” Stiles corrected. He smiled back at Scott.

_December 11, 2012_

Stiles poured milk into the bowl of cereal in front of Chloe and put the jug back in the fridge, bumping the door with his hip to close it as he got a spoon out of the silverware drawer. He set it beside her bowl. It was almost time for him to leave for the day, but he was taking his time on purpose, hoping his dad would write him a note to excuse him. 

John knew exactly what Stiles was thinking, and was leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest in amusement. “Classes. What do you have today?”

“Spanish, English, Chemistry and U.S. Government.” Stiles groaned. “Come on, tell them I’ll voluntarily write an extra credit paper on anything they want. Within reason.” 

John sighed. “Give me the grade estimate. How’re you doing so far?”

“I’m having trouble in chem, as usual.” Stiles admitted. “But I’m good with everything else.” He looked at the little girl at the table, wearing pink and black Batman pajamas. “So, what do you think of Cookie Crisp?” 

Chloe looked up at Stiles, her eyes wide. “It’s very good.” 

John smiled down at her. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” He looked at Stiles. “You know, since I can’t.”

“How come you can’t have some?” She looked from John to Stiles and back, puzzled. “Are you ‘llergic to cookies?” 

“Yes, he is.” Stiles said quickly, frowning at his dad. 

“You’re lying.” The girl stared at Stiles. She squirmed down from the chair she was on, grabbing the box from the table and bringing it to John. “You have some, too.” 

John’s smile widened, and he let out a quiet little chuckle, putting his hand on Chloe’s shoulder and squeezing affectionately. “Thank you, sweetheart, but no. I’m alright. The cereal is for Stiles, and for you. I can do without.” He looked at Stiles and smiled again softly.

Stiles made a face at his dad. “Go ahead and have a handful.” He shrugged. “You’re letting me ditch school, I can at least be here to tell the paramedics why you had your heart attack.” He smiled. 

John snorted, clapping his hand on the back of Stiles’ neck. “Nah. It’s alright, son. No heart attacks on your watch, right?” He dropped his hand and leaned them both on the table, looking over at the younger man. “Just make sure you manage to get some kind of extra credit to make up for today. I’ll make sure to call you in.”

Stiles nodded and lifted Chloe, helping her sit back down. They had another two hours before they could call Child Protective Services, and it would be at least a couple of days before Chloe could go home or be placed in foster care. He knew he was going to end up getting in trouble later on, because he was already attached to her and wanted to make sure she was okay, which might involve asking a few of the werewolves he knew to stalk whatever family she ended up with. 

John could actually relax for the day, so he took a seat at the table and watched Chloe and Stiles closely. If it wasn’t for the way that Stiles almost hovered around the young girl, watching her with a hawk-like gaze, John might never have realized how attached his son had already gotten to the child. Unfortunately, he _had_ noticed - and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. They’d taken in children sometimes over the years, but it had been a very long time ago, and Stiles himself had been a kid, while the other children had always been older, even teenagers. Of course, he and Renee had risked getting attached before, but never like this. He didn’t want to see the expression on Stiles’ face when Chloe inevitably left them.

Lydia knocked on Stiles’ front door with one hand, the other firmly gripping Scott’s earlobe. Even a week after her talk with him, Scott was still having trouble seeing Stiles and Allison together, so Lydia was determined to use immersion therapy on the werewolf until he got over his angst. She hadn’t seen Stiles’ Jeep at school, so she took a chance and dragged Scott with her to the house, a little amazed that he hadn’t bolted as soon as she had both hands on the steering wheel. She figured it was a positive sign. 

Scott let out a resigned whine, his shoulders heaving. “Can you please let go of my ear now? I’m not going to run, I swear.”

“Okay.” Lydia smiled. “Just as soon as they open the door and you’re in the house.” She knocked again, trying not to laugh. “Really, you brought this on yourself.” 

“You can’t blame me for being uncomfortable!” Scott protested. “Or maybe you can, but I really wish you wouldn’t and that you’d be a little _sympathetic_ , Lydia!”

“You’re the one that is supposed to be in charge of all of us. You’re setting a horrible example and I’m not going to let someone else come in and challenge you for power, and win. The first step in keeping you in control is making sure you’re actually getting along with everyone else.” Lydia was getting impatient. She lifted her hand to knock one more time as she looked down at her watch, startled when her fist connected with Stiles’ forehead. She glanced over at Scott and tightened her grip on his earlobe. “ _You_ should have said something.” 

Scott refused to look guilty, even as his ears started turning red. Instead, he ducked his head, looking off to the side and cringing as her grip tightened. “Ow.” He mumbled plaintively.

Stiles rubbed his forehead. “Can you stop inflicting damage on us, please?” He stepped back to let Lydia and Scott in. “There’s an impressionable child in here.” 

“I think you can be immature sometimes, but I’d hardly call you a child.” Lydia remarked, glancing past Stiles as she finally released Scott’s ear, staring at the little brown-haired girl at the kitchen table. “Stiles, when did you get a little sister?” 

“She’s not my sister.” Stiles murmured, glancing at Chloe like he was trying to figure out why Lydia had jumped to that conclusion. “Okay, I guess she does look sort of like me, but no, she’s not a relative.” 

Scott came up behind Lydia, staring at Chloe. “ _Sort of_?” He turned to look at Stiles. “Dude. She looks just like you would if you’d been a girl.”

Stiles pulled Scott and Lydia back into the living room, speaking quietly. “She either ran away or got left behind at the store last night, while I was wrapping presents. She wasn’t even dressed warmly enough to be out there, so I brought her back here and made sure she had something to wear today and something to eat. I was actually going to ask if you or Derek would mind keeping an eye on her house if her parents do show up to get her.” He admitted to Scott. “But I felt weird about leaving today. I’m not going to school. I wouldn’t be able to focus, anyway.” 

Scott frowned, but nodded. “Jesus. Poor kid.” He mumbled. He furrowed his brow, concentrating a little in order to try and catch the girl’s scent, but grimaced. “She doesn’t - all I smell is you.” His voice was a little subdued. “Like Allison and your dad, but mostly you. There’s no one else’s scent on her… It’s weird.” He looked up at Stiles.

“And you’re sure you don’t have a sister?” Lydia demanded. “Because the resemblance is almost too good. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t like any of it. You and Allison are dating and Kira moved away, and now there’s a little girl that needs your help and she doesn’t have any other scents except for yours and your dad’s... and Allison’s?” Her eyebrow raised. “Stiles, what do you know about time travel?” 

“I know that one of the Doctors doesn’t like apples.” Stiles muttered. “Lydia, what the hell are you getting at?” He was too frustrated to censor himself, but he glanced over his shoulder to make sure Chloe wasn’t listening. 

“She looks like you. She smells like you and Allison, but nobody else. What do you think I’m getting at?” Lydia rolled her eyes. “She’s your daughter. Probably.” 

Scott’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and he spun to gape at Lydia. “What. _What?!_ ”

“She looks like Stiles.” Lydia repeated. “She smells like Stiles and Allison, but nobody else, other than the Sheriff, who has been around her since Stiles brought her home. She’s happily wearing a Batman set of pajamas and eating cookie cereal. If she’s not related to Stiles, she might as well be.” 

“But she wouldn’t - how would she - she’s only a kid!” Scott blurted. “She’s so little. How could she have managed to freaking _time travel_?” He paused and seemed to remember whose possible child he was speaking of, then shook his head. “Nevermind. If anyone could do it, it would be Stiles’ kid.”

Stiles stared at Scott, his eyes narrowed. “Who the hell said I’d let my kid time travel? That’s it, she’s grounded.” He paused. “In whatever year she’s from, she’s grounded. If she’s even my kid.”

“If she isn’t, I want to see evidence to the contrary.” Scott shot at him, and couldn’t help grinning. “But dude, your kid time-traveled.”

“My alleged kid allegedly time-traveled.” Stiles corrected. He smiled back at Scott. “Okay, it’s kind of cool, I agree. But what is she back here for, then? Let’s just go with this insane theory for a second. She’s about four or five, so she’s at least from....” He started counting on his fingers, trying to do the math for when he thought he would be ready to have kids with Allison and how much further along in the future it would actually happen. 

“If you’re not starting from at least two thousand eighteen, I’m telling Allison to break up with you.” Lydia looked bored, but she was actually a little concerned. She knew how Stiles could be, how he _had been_ about her, and all of the plans he had made about a possible future they would have had together. She didn’t want him to get in over his head and do the same thing to Allison. “If you’ve already named your puppies, I swear to god, Stiles....” 

“Snoopy and Starfire.” Scott replied, then glanced at Lydia, flushing. “I couldn’t have pets growing up and Stiles wasn’t allowed to get any. Those names have been planned out since we were six.”

Lydia’s concerned expression became a joyful smile. “That’s actually cute. So they both have S-names and you two have S-names. Was that on purpose? Were you going to grow up and get married?” 

Scott scowled at her. “There was a _pact_.” He muttered sullenly.

“I ruined that for you, didn’t I?” Lydia teased, definitely enjoying herself. She wasn’t sure why Scott being miserable made her happy, lately. 

“You’re a horrible person.” Scott snapped. He looked at Stiles. “When you name your puppies, remember me. Avenge me.”

Stiles nodded, but he was barely paying attention to their argument as he watched Chloe, looking for anything that would prove that she couldn’t be his kid, just to reassure himself that he wouldn’t end up being the kind of dad who would end up causing his kid to time-travel, just to get away from him. He couldn’t see any other reason for her to be here, now. He shook his head, trying to tell himself that Lydia was probably wrong. 

Allison poked her head around the doorway, knocking gently as she entered. “Stiles?” She called, and closed the door behind her. She caught sight of Scott and Lydia as she came in, looking startled. “Oh. Hi, I… didn’t think you would be here.” She frowned, her gaze narrowing at Scott for a moment before she moved past them, squeezing Lydia’s hand lightly and smiling at Stiles. “How is she today?” She asked, peering past him and into the kitchen at Chloe.

“Lydia and Scott think she’s our daughter and that she came here from the future.” Stiles glanced at Allison. “She likes Cookie Crisp and Batman, and she already argued with me about what my dad was allowed to have for breakfast.” He gave his girlfriend a pleading look. “Tell me they’re insane, please?” 

Allison blinked. “She argued with you about your dad’s food intake?” She glanced back at Lydia and Scott, then hesitantly looked inside at Chloe again. Her head tilted to the side, and she squinted. “I don’t see it.”

Stiles sighed in relief. “Thank you.” He hugged her, kissing her cheek. 

“Excuse me?” Lydia scowled at Allison. “The brown hair and light brown eyes don’t remind you of Stiles at all? Scott sees it, too.” She jabbed her finger into Scott’s ribs. “Tell her.” 

Scott yelped and danced away from Lydia, maneuvering himself until he was as far from the redhead as he could get. “She looks like Stiles, yes!” He blurted. “She doesn’t have anyone’s scent on her except for yours, Stiles’ and the Sheriff’s.”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Maybe because she and Stiles spent a good amount of time hugging each other last night? And Stiles carried her for a good while. So did the Sheriff. Stiles and I bracketed her between us in the SUV. Being our magical kid from the future isn’t the only way she could have gotten our scents on her.”

Scott sputtered. “She doesn’t smell like _anything else_!” He hissed. “There’s not a _hint_ of anyone else’s scent on her except yours. _Not even her own!_ ”

“See?” Lydia nodded. “Now we need to talk about why the hell you named your daughter Chloe. There are so many other names and you chose that one?” 

Stiles groaned and put his hand over his eyes. “Okay.” He looked at Allison and nodded. “This is what’s really going on. I’m in some kind of hell where I’m being tortured nonstop, so all of the good things that have happened to me lately are just hallucinations. But somehow, my mind knows better, so it’s giving me a bunch of weird crap to sort through, so that I’ll snap out of it.” 

Allison raised her eyebrows and smirked at him, lifting her head up to kiss him soundly. “Good thing you have me here.”

Stiles grinned. “Okay, let’s try to be logical about this. She does kind of look like me.” He murmured, turning to look at Chloe again. “Maybe she trusts us because she already knows us? Or at least, older us. Lydia got mad at me for trying to do the math and figure out when future us had her. Should we just ask her? Would she tell us? If I was going to have to send someone into the past, I’d tell them not to say anything that might mess up their own future.”

Allison tapped the fingers of one hand lightly against her arm, frowning a little. “I don’t know. Maybe - if she really has come back in time - maybe she came back to warn us about something that might happen. It’s not like we’d know if something awful was going to hit, you know?” She stared at the young girl as Stiles’ father interacted with her, and a smile appeared, unbidden, on her face. “She kind of looks like your dad a little, you know? Just around the eyes. But she has your eyes, definitely. Your face. She’s like a little you.”

Scott shuffled his feet, watching the expression on Allison’s face with a resigned look on his own. He looked down, shoulders slumped, and any complaint he wanted to make got stuck in his throat. He felt foolish, even though the hurt still persisted, for being so focused on Allison when her affections were obvious and there were more important things to worry about. Even worse was seeing the look on Stiles’ face and the guilt for ever being angry about something that would make his best friend - his _brother_ , for god’s sake - so happy.

“Look who finally woke up.” Lydia murmured, watching Scott’s emotions flicker across his face. “Are you okay?” 

Scott swallowed thickly and finally shut his eyes, drawing a deep breath before he looked up again at Lydia. “No.” He said softly, and then gave her a sad smile. “But I will be.”

“Good.” Lydia wasn’t really the type that went around hugging people, the way that Scott and Stiles always did, but she reached up and put a hand on Scott’s shoulder. 

Stiles gave them a curious look, but he turned his head to kiss Allison, instead of asking. “So we’re just going to stick with this theory? Should we take her to Deaton and let him _not_ explain what’s going on? I want to know how she did it. But maybe asking is a bad idea? And I don’t know if I want Deaton going near her, so forget I even brought it up.” He looked at Allison. “You feel responsible for her too, right? It’s not just me?” 

Allison shook her head. “It’s not just you. She’s special. I want to protect her - I want to do _everything_ I can to protect her. I don’t really know if she’s actually ours or not -” Those words should not have given her as much of a thrill as they did - “But I know that right now, she’s with us, and I’m going to make damn sure that she’s safe. So…” She sighed to herself and looked at Scott. “Would asking Deaton help us, or would it be pointless?”

Scott blinked and stuttered for a moment before sighing and saying, “Uh, at this point, I’m not really sure anymore. He keeps his secrets from me as much as he keeps them from the rest of you.”

“Okay, no Deaton.” Stiles muttered. “We’ll need to keep this quiet, but I think I should tell my dad not to bother looking for her parents.” He couldn’t help feeling terrified. “I probably shouldn’t lead by calling him Grandpa, right?” 

Allison dropped her face into her hands, letting out a helpless laugh. “That probably might not go over well, no.”

“Right.” Stiles took a deep breath and walked over to his dad. “Can I talk to you for a minute, maybe in the garage where the screaming won’t be so loud?” 

John stared at Stiles hard for a moment. “Are we talking ‘rattle the roof’ screaming, or ‘call in the National Guard’ screaming?”

Stiles hesitated. “Uh, do they do DNA tests?” He shook his head. “I don’t think it matters, let’s just go talk somewhere else in the house.”

“Oh, jesus.” John mumbled and stood up. He paused for a moment, then bent down next to Chloe. “If you need anyone, if you need me or Stiles for anything, just hassle those three, okay, sweetheart?” He pointed at Allison, Scott and Lydia.

Allison beamed at Chloe, waving at the little girl.

Chloe waved back at Allison, then smiled at Scott and Lydia. “Okay, I will.” She looked up at John and nodded. 

Stiles went into his dad’s office and waited for his dad to join him before he shut the door and launched into his explanation. “It might not be accurate, but this theory did come from Lydia, so... she thinks that Chloe is my daughter. Mine and Allison’s. Maybe from the future? Scott says the only scents on her are mine, yours and Allison’s, and that she doesn’t have one of her own. So maybe it’s something else, but it’s not lost on any of us that Allison and I feel responsible for her, and we have from the second we saw her.” 

John folded his arms across his chest, squinting roughly at his son. “Okay, I honestly didn’t imagine it would be something like that. Is… Is Lydia usually in any way wrong about things like this?” He asked, looking almost hopeful. He wanted Stiles to have kids one day, but his son was still in high school and in no way ready for it, particularly with the offset of the supernatural shenanigans that regularly happened around Beacon Hills.

Stiles opened his mouth to say that Lydia was never wrong, but he stopped and thought more about it. “I think it’s just a suggestion that we’re kind of running with, actually. But you have to look at the logistics of it. She likes Batman, she looks like me, she seems like she was running away from someone, but she automatically trusts me and Allison? If we give her a bow and arrow and she can hit a target, would that be enough to convince you? Or would it take asking her if she knows French, maybe? I don’t... uh, I don’t know what I’m going to be like in another ten years, so maybe she knows stuff that I don’t know how to ask her if she knows, but even if I did, I probably told her not to tell me now.” 

John stared at Stiles as he slowly attempted to process his son’s words. “I… Stiles, I don’t know the protocol for something like this.” He confessed. “You and your friends think that the little girl in there is my future granddaughter, and - I mean, she does look kind of familiar - what the hell do we do about something like this? How the hell did she even get here if she hasn’t even been born yet?” He narrowed his eyes at Stiles. “There’s no chance of that happening in nine months, is there?”

“First of all, the typical gestation period is actually ten months.” Stiles began. “But no, Allison isn’t pregnant. Unless the baby isn’t mine, I mean. And that’s something that she would have mentioned.” 

John snorted a laugh. “Oh, no, that kid would be all yours. Your girl’s got me completely convinced of that.” He told Stiles, recalling what he saw from them the night before.

Stiles smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, but I don’t expect her to have stopped living her life while she was away, and not actually dating me.” 

John inclined his head. “Any kid that she would have from this point onward wouldn’t be anyone’s but yours.” He amended. “If she’d had a kid while she was in France, I assume that would’ve been something she would have told you, though, once she did start dating you.”

“Allison isn’t like the rest of her family. She wouldn’t just keep secrets from everybody.” Stiles murmured. “She’s seen what that can do.” He glanced toward the door. “We’ll need to find a way to ask Chloe what’s going on, but I don’t want to scare her.” 

“I don’t think anything could scare that little girl, Stiles.” John murmured honestly. “She’s… not like other four year olds would be, surrounded by strangers like this. She’s calm, cool. Enjoying herself, even. And for god’s sake, she argued with you over my food habits.” The thought shot across his mind, and John stiffened. “Christ. Maybe she really is your kid.”

“And we’re probably not strangers to her.” Stiles pointed out. “She would know all of us, just not at the ages we are now. She’s seen us older, which means if I do anything immature, that might horrify her. It always freaks me out when you act like a weirdo.” He laughed. 

“You just aren’t used to it.” John snorted. “I always kept myself pretty straight-laced around you so you didn’t have much of a chance to see me be really crazy. Chances are, she’s seen you act like an absolute nut, so you can do no wrong in her eyes.” 

“She’s going to need more clothes.” Stiles frowned. “And silverware she can actually use. It would have been nice if older me had maybe given her a suitcase full of stuff.” He looked worried. “Maybe I didn’t have time.” 

“Don’t think about that now.” John told him gently. “Think about Chloe, and how we’re going to take care of her. We can worry about the whys and the hows of being sent back later, when she’s settled properly, alright?”

Stiles nodded. “Still, if you get down to it, then I’ve already done this.” He made a face. “See, because if I get to the point where she’s four and send her back to myself, then when I get to the point where she’s four, I should know I’m _going to_ send her back to myself.” 

John stared at Stiles, then sighed. “I should probably be glad I haven’t seen a DeLorean flying around the corner, shouldn’t I?”

“Her feet can’t even reach the pedals, Dad.” Stiles snorted. “Right, that’s my real problem with this line of thinking? Take Lydia with you to the store this time, she’ll want to get Chloe something that isn’t Batman-themed, anyway.” 

“I’m man enough to admit that, frankly, I’m a little terrified.” John admitted, chuckling.

“I’ll try talking to her.” Stiles looked worried. “And I’ll try not to say something dumb and scare her.” He walked back into the kitchen, sitting down beside Chloe. “Hey.” 

Chloe looked up at Stiles, smiling and showing off the gap between her teeth. “Hi.” 

Allison grinned at the both of them. “Chloe says she thinks you’re a superhero.” She told Stiles matter-of-factly, referencing their conversation at the shop the night before.

“That’s sweet.” Stiles murmured. “But unfortunately, no. You are, and your.... Allison is.” He nodded, catching himself before he could say anything that might scare Chloe. He still had a few doubts that time travel was possible, even with everything else he had seen. “The two of you. But not me.” 

Allison glanced at Chloe, catching the little girl’s eyes before she turned back to her boyfriend. “I think Chloe and I are of the opinion that you’re wrong.” She told him gently, and smiled softly at him.

Stiles smiled back at Allison, not wanting their first argument to end up being about whether or not he was actually a superhero. He glanced around for Scott. 

Allison indicated the living room. “He’s talking to Lydia about whatever it was they were talking about before.” She said quietly, her eyes moving back to Chloe almost in fascination.

Stiles reached for Alison’s hand. He looked at Chloe again. “Hey, how long have you been by yourself? I mean, before you came here with us?” 

Chloe looked up from the coloring book she had been engrossed in. “Not very long. Just a little while. Um, an hour, I think?” 

“Okay, but where were you before?” Stiles murmured. He glanced over at Allison. 

“With my family. We came here to get away for awhile.” Chloe put down her green crayon and picked up a blue one. She held it out to Allison, then pushed the book toward her. “I don’t want to say more than that.” 

Allison took the crayon, and let the book stay where it was, not pulling it any closer, but not pushing it away, and began coloring in the sky in Chloe’s book. “You don’t have to, sweetie.” She told the girl, squeezing Stiles’ hand in hers. “But what do you think of shopping? We’re going to take you to go get some more things, and we want you to be able to pick out anything you like.”

“No, you’ve done enough already.” Chloe shook her head, glancing from Allison to Stiles again, like she couldn’t stop looking at them. “I’m okay.” 

“Well, we know you’re okay.” Stiles smiled. “But you should have at least a few more changes of clothes. I already told my dad he should take you and Lydia this time, since she’s good at shopping for things like that.” 

“You like Stiles’ dad, right?” Allison asked. “He’s kind of fun to shop with. I bet if you ask him real nicely, he’ll even play around on the toys with you at the store.”

Chloe giggled. “Okay.” She got up and went looking for Lydia and Scott. 

Allison looked at Stiles for a moment, setting down the crayon she still had in her hand. After a moment, she leaned forward and put her hand on the back of his head, drawing him into a slow kiss. “I think you’re strong, and smart, and incredible. You’ve faced down everything that’s come at you, Stiles. I will never look at you and _not_ think that you’re a hero. I know you probably aren’t going to believe me, but… just let me believe it. Trust me. Please?” She asked, and then kissed him softly again, her fingers threading through the hair at the nape of his neck.

Stiles kissed back slowly, bringing a hand up to touch Allison’s cheek. He opened his eyes as he pulled away. “You know that I trust you. I’m just not ever going to be as strong or as fast as Scott. I can’t know when someone’s about to die, the way Lydia can. I don’t have much of anything, except a computer with internet access and a willingness to read through a lot of boring books. And I have you.” 

“And you have one more very important thing.” Allison said firmly, and moved her hand down to rest on his chest. “You have heart. You’re _the_ heart, Stiles. You’re _my_ heart. You’re the one that keeps us all together and gives us a reason to keep fighting. Everything we went through with the nogitsune was because we wanted to save you, because you’re the most important one out of all of us. Without you, there’s nothing that would be able to keep us together.”

Stiles shook his head. “I don't think we’ll ever agree about this.” He mumbled. “I’m glad you’re with me and I still feel amazed that you like me, but this whole thing started because I fucked up in the first place.” 

Allison sighed. “But you didn’t. You _didn’t_ , Stiles. It wasn’t you. If you want to blame anyone, blame the darach. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have needed to go to Deaton, we wouldn’t have needed to do that stupid ritual, because our parents wouldn’t have been taken. We wouldn’t have needed to do any of it, because there would have been no ‘door’ open in our minds, and no opening for the nogitsune to get into yours.”

“I made Scott go into the woods.” Stiles admitted. “The night he got attacked by Peter and became a werewolf? That was my fault. I dragged him out there and I left him behind. For all we knew at the time, a murderer could have been out there.” He grimaced. “A murderer _was_ out there, and he got Scott.” 

“But Scott’s alive. Scott’s alive, and powerful, and good. He’s a True Alpha, and he never would have been that way if it hadn’t been for you. He could have ended up just another victim. You figured out what he’d become, you showed him what to do, you trained him the best way you could, the only way you knew how, with the limited resources you had, and look at him now.” Allison quirked a small smile at him. “We can do this all night, but I can think of a million things that you would probably enjoy a million times more. Some involve laying down, cuddling, hugs, kisses, and your couch. Just - whatever you think, Stiles, I am always going to think the best of you. Not because I’m biased, even though I kind of am, but because I really do think you are. The best, I mean. If I thought for an instant that you weren’t, if I actually blamed you for anything that’s happened, I wouldn’t be so crazy about you, Stiles. I’d be keeping my distance, instead of trying to figure out easier, faster ways to climb into your lap and just stay there for hours.”

Stiles pushed his chair back and smiled at Allison, gesturing for her to come closer. “I just feel like, if I forget even for a second that I could have gotten my best friend murdered, I’m no better than that thing that possessed me.” 

Allison grinned and got out of her chair, quickly curling herself into Stiles’ lap, her arms looping around his neck. “You would never. You love Scott. You would never do anything to hurt him.” She rested her head against his for a moment. “You know, sometimes I used to get jealous of the relationship you two had. What Scott and I had was intense and romantic and everything, but you and Scott… You were almost always on the same wavelength. You could practically read each other’s minds, you were always there for each other, backing each other up. I wondered sometimes if I was, like, ‘the other woman.’” She giggled. “You’ve seen reruns of that show, _Boy Meets World_ , right? You two are Cory and Shawn. You would kill _for_ each other, but you’d never deliberately hurt each other.”

“That makes Lydia Topanga.” Stiles laughed. “For the most part, anyway. Don’t ever tell her that, though. She might stab you.” He put his arms around her waist. “I’m probably going upstairs to use my whiteboard as soon as they’re all gone.” 

Allison narrowed her eyes at him playfully. “That had better make me Angela and you Shawn, mister.” She darted forward for another kiss. “Timeline time?”

Stiles grinned. “Now who can read whose mind?” He kissed her again and lifted her as he stood up. “Come on.” 

Giggling, Allison clung to him for a moment before letting herself drop to the floor. “Lead the way.”


	8. Listen Miss, You've Got Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A startled cry ripped its way past Allison’s lips, and she let out a low moan, her eyes rolling up in her head. “Oh, my god.” She breathed and clutched at his hand.
> 
> Stiles grinned, unable to stop staring at her. “You’re so beautiful, Allison.” He whispered reverently, pushing a sweat-dampened lock of hair away from her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title comes from the song _Allie_ , by Patrick Stump.

_December 11, 2012_

Stiles grabbed Allison’s hand and led her up to his room. He uncapped his marker. “I know things can happen, but I think you and I will be careful to do our best to prevent them from happening.” He began. “So we can rule out the next few years, since we’ll have training and college classes. And I would rather wait until after college before we really think about having kids. Anyway, it would be after we graduate, no matter what. We can rule out all of next year and the year after.” He wrote down ‘2013’ and ‘2014’ on the board, then drew lines through them. “She didn’t give you a birth year, did she? Because if she did, you’re probably laughing at me and watching me waste my time.” He glanced over his shoulder at Allison. 

Allison shook her head. “I didn’t get any birth years, but since I don’t want to have any kids until I’m at least twenty-five, I’d say it won’t be any time before two-thousand and nineteen, or two-thousand twenty.”

“Okay.” Stiles erased the board and wrote the years Allison had mentioned. “She didn’t mention school, so I’m sticking with the idea of her being four. So she would have come from a point in time as early as... two thousand twenty-three. But no later than two thousand twenty-nine.” He twisted around to look at Allison. “I feel like, if I haven’t become a dad by the time I’m twenty-nine, I will be before I turn thirty-one, so she would have had to be born by the end of two thousand twenty-five.” He made a face. “Is it weird that we’re planning her out in reverse?” 

Allison ducked her head, giggling. She pulled her legs up onto the bed beneath her, letting her head rest on one hand. “A little.” She admitted. “But considering I didn’t realize how much I wanted to have a kid with you until one showed up from the future, at least we know when we’ll have her.” Her cheeks went red, and she looked out of Stiles’ window, trying and failing to hide her smile.

Stiles put the cap back on his marker and set it aside, then moved to sit down with her. “I want to see if we can find a way to determine why we sent her back here. I was telling my dad that in a stable time loop, I’m doing this now, so when the time comes for me to actually send Chloe back here, to us? I should have remembered and packed something for her. Unless something really wrong happened and I didn’t get the chance. Don’t get the chance. Whatever.” 

Allison turned toward him and curved herself against him, one hand clutching his shoulder. “Don’t say that.” She murmured. “I don’t want to think about stuff like that. Not now, when we shouldn’t have to.”

Stiles leaned in to kiss Allison, putting an arm around her. “I’ll try for something more optimistic. Our daughter is probably arguing with Lydia and Scott right now about everything they’re trying to get her. I hope my dad is recording it.” He stared at Allison for a long moment. “Do you want to lay down with me?” 

“Yeah.” Allison nodded, and stretched out, resting her head on the pillow and winding her arm over Stiles’ waist.

Stiles scooted a little closer to Allison and smiled. “If someone had told me, the day you and I met, that you’d be with me? I would have told my dad they were probably running a meth lab. I just think you’re amazing and I’ll never stop feeling that way.” 

Allison rested her head against his shoulder, grinning back up at him. “I think you’re pretty amazing, too. It’s kind of hard to believe that we’re together, too, but I’m so glad you found me in that chat that day. I’d been feeling kind of miserable and lonely, and you made it better.”

“My dad was kind of surprised when you invited me to Paris.” Stiles reached over to play with a lock of Allison’s hair. “But I wouldn’t have quit nagging him until he agreed to let me. Still, he didn’t make me have to do all of that. He was fine with it almost instantly. I’m kind of wondering what he did while I was gone.” 

Allison grinned. “Is he dating anyone?” She asked, her thumb brushing over the bare strip of skin visible between his shirt and jeans.

Stiles’ muscles twitched under Allison’s hand. He made a face at her. “That’s a facet of his life I don’t need to stay informed on. And if you’re trying to find out where I’m ticklish, you just succeeded.” 

“I _wasn’t_ trying, but I’m glad I know now.” Allison laughed, doing it again. “Maybe your dad was just busy, or maybe he actually is dating someone, or maybe he was acting like my dad does when I tell him that I’m spending time with Lydia and won’t be home for the night.”

Stiles batted at Allison’s hand, then reconsidered and entwined their fingers. “I think the only way it could have an effect on me at all is if my dad was dating your dad. And that’s something I hope never, ever happens, but werewolves are real.” 

Allison giggled again quietly. “If our dads were dating… Um. Let’s not think about our dads, okay? Dad-free zone, right here. Just Stiles and Allison.” She lifted her head, then bent down and kissed him soundly on the mouth.

Stiles groaned and pulled Allison with him as he rolled onto his back. He wasn’t in a hurry to further his very limited hands-on experience, but they were the only ones in the house and he didn’t see a point in wasting an opportunity. 

Rolling with Stiles, Allison ducked her head, pressing tiny kisses to his lips as she rested above him, her hands settling firmly on his chest and kneading gently like a cat.

Stiles pulled back a little to look up at her. “How far do you want this to go? I mean, today.” He reached up to rub her back. 

Allison pressed into his touch, arching slightly and closing her eyes as she thought. Eventually, she looked back down at him, eyes wide open, and said, “I don’t really know. I think I just want to go with the flow for now. But I will definitely tell you when too far is too far.”

Stiles nodded and lifted his head to kiss her again, bringing his hand down to the hem of her shirt, then sliding his fingers over the skin underneath it. 

Allison hummed out a sigh and pressed up against his hand, eagerly kissing him back. One arm looped itself around Stiles’ neck while the other clutched at his bicep, squeezing rhythmically. 

Stiles pushed Allison’s shirt higher up, toward her shoulders. He lifted himself up a little and kissed her neck, flailing as he reached behind him for the pillows. He was uncomfortable in this position and thought they might help, but he didn’t want to stop doing anything with Allison. 

Allison snorted out a laugh, moving her hands to grip him by both shoulders before twisting at the waist and dragging him on top of her. Reluctantly letting go of Stiles for a moment, she dragged her shirt up and over her head, tossing it to the ground and leaving her in her bra. Finished, she flattened herself on her back and stared up at him. “Better?”

Stiles was having a little trouble forming words as he looked down at Allison. He nodded. He had seen girls in less clothing than this, in person in fact, but never for this reason. He pulled his own shirt off and leaned back down to kiss Allison’s shoulder. 

Allison lifted her head to the side, her eyes closing again, and her hands tightened on Stiles’ shoulders, lifting into him as he kissed her. Her legs fell apart naturally, invitingly as she allowed Stiles’ hips to settle between her thighs. One leg dragged gently, brushing against Stiles’ leg.

Without giving it any real thought, Stiles thrust forward with his hips. He paused, waiting for what he was sure to be a negative reaction. When it didn’t happen, he pressed forward with his hips again, grinding a little against Allison. 

Letting out a soft whimper, Allison groaned out loud and pushed back, tightening her legs around Stiles’ waist as she lifted her head up to kiss him again. Her hand moved to the back of his head, tugging him closer.

Stiles kissed Allison’s collarbone, then lifted his head to kiss her lips again. He felt a little awkward, doing this in his jeans, but he knew that things would somehow be worse if he took them off. He was in control of himself, but only as much as any teenage guy could be, and they only had a limited amount of time, anyway. 

Allison heaved a soft, happy sigh against his mouth and kissed him back, her arms and legs twining around him. The best part about all of this, despite their state of undress, Allison felt no rush, no definitive need to have him _right now_. She still did, of course - but the want wasn’t burning her alive and stabbing her with pain from the inside. It was natural, this need to be with him, relaxing, and satisfying, even just like this.

“If I do something you don’t want yet, all you have to do is tell me to stop.” Stiles mumbled, resting his weight on one elbow as he brought his other hand up to skim his fingers over her ribs. He watched her face, a little intimidated by the knowledge of what she could do if he made the wrong move and pissed her off. 

Allison’s eyelids fluttered and she shivered a little. “I’m good with what we’re doing now.” She said quietly. She reached down and took Stiles’ hand, dragging it up her belly to her chest.

Stiles cupped Allison’s breast and brushed his thumb across her nipple, his breath catching in his throat when he heard a car drive down their street. He waited for the usual car door slam that indicated his dad was home, but when it didn’t happen, he redirected his attention to Allison. 

Moaning softly, Allison ran her hands up and down Stiles’ arms, pushing up into Stiles’ touch, arching her breast into his palm as her head fell back.

“Okay.” Stiles murmured. “Let’s trade positions again?” He got up, kissing her quickly before he stood, feeling a little embarrassed as he tried to take off his jeans. They really were making him uncomfortable, but he thought it wouldn’t be so terrible if things did go a little bit further, with one less obstacle in the way. He laid down, reaching for Allison again. 

Allison settled on Stiles’ lap, smiling down at him and clinging to his hands. She leaned down to kiss him again, stretching out above him and pressing her breasts to his chest with a sigh as she ground down against him.

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s hips, glancing up at her. “I’m probably on your nerves because I keep asking, but this is okay, isn’t it?” He faltered, wondering if he was making her reconsider wanting to be with him. He felt like an idiot. 

Shaking her head, Allison touched his cheek. “I’m fine with anything you want to do.” She murmured. “As long as I’m doing it with you. If something isn’t okay, I swear I’ll tell you.” She took his hand and kissed his knuckles.

Stiles nodded. He moved his hand back to Allison’s breast, biting his lip as he pushed the material of her bra aside and touched her bare skin. “I thought about doing this in Paris.” He admitted, looking up at her. “I wasn’t going to ask you every two seconds if I was doing something you were okay with. Or so I told myself, at the time.” 

Allison let out a soft, shuddering breath, licking her lips. “I don’t mind you asking.” She laughed quietly. “At least I know you care enough to ask.” She bit down on her bottom lip, watching him quietly, and let her hips roll gently against his.

Stiles closed his eyes for a second. “I wanted you for a while.” He spoke so quietly, he wasn’t sure she could even hear him. “Not in an extreme kind of way, but I thought about you. I pretended I didn’t, because it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, you were with Scott and then you were with Isaac, and even if you hadn’t been with Isaac, you _had_ been with Scott and that’s one of the things that held me back from even looking at you in a serious way, and not just when my thoughts drifted sometimes. And you probably think...” He opened his eyes, sighing as he looked up at her. “You probably think I’m talking about masturbating, but I’m not. I got to hear all of these things about you. Your old drawings and movies you liked, and I wanted to be there, experiencing all of that for myself. I was so jealous of Scott that I couldn’t even see straight, and then he... he’d had you, and he went off and kissed Lydia, and I hated him for a few minutes.” 

Allison stared down at him, her heart pounding. “Stiles… I didn’t know.” She took a deep, shaky breath as she slid off of him and down to his side. Her arms wrapped around him solidly, and she tugged him into a tight hug, pressing her cheek against his. “I never knew. I’m so sorry I never knew. I wish I had because if you and me then were anything like we are now, I wouldn’t have looked twice at Scott, or Isaac, or any other boy who glanced at me. You make me feel so good about myself, and if I can even try to make you feel a _fraction_ of that, it’s still not enough because I want to make you feel _incredible_.”

“You do make me feel incredible.” Stiles murmured, smiling faintly. “And like a massive dork for not automatically knowing if I’m doing anything right, but I don’t mind having you be the one to teach me.” 

“There’s no right or wrong.” Allison told him firmly, and lifted her head to kiss him softly. “Whatever you do is going to feel good because it’s you and me. Okay?” She stroked her fingers through his hair. “And you are a dork, but you’re the best kind, and you’re mine.”

“I am.” Stiles agreed easily, his smile widening. “I’m yours.” He put a hand on her back, holding her against him as he moved to sit up against the pillows, his lips quirking into a more devious grin as he brought his mouth to her breast. 

Yelping in surprise, Allison’s arms flew around Stiles, clinging to him. She stared down at his lips, her mouth dropping open in stunned awe. “Oh.” She whimpered.

Stiles traced over her skin with his tongue, pressing her down against his erection with the arm still around her waist. He felt more secure, knowing they would have a daughter and that neither one of them would be looking for a way out of the relationship at any point in the next decade, or even past that. 

“Stiles.” Allison breathed, a silly smile growing on her face as she closed her eyes. She pressed down, grinding her hips against the bulge in his boxers. Her eyes rolled up and her body gave a small tremor. “You feel so good.”

Stiles pulled away from Allison’s breast, a little startled. “Did you - did I make you come?” He couldn’t help reciprocating her thrusts with a few of his own, breathing heavily as he stared up at her. 

A slow smile curved across her lips, her eyes still closed. “ _La petite mort_ ,” she murmured. “Just the start of one.” She shuddered again and thrust hard against Stiles. “So good. So - please. Please, Stiles. And I’ll… whatever you want. I’ll do anything you want.”

“Just stay with me.” Stiles smiled. “That’s all I want.” He rolled his hips up to meet her thrusts, his lips closing over her nipple once more. He was determined now to watch her fall apart from his attention. 

A startled cry ripped its way past Allison’s lips, and she let out a low moan, her eyes rolling up in her head. “Oh, my god.” She breathed and clutched at his hand.

Stiles grinned, unable to stop staring at her. “You’re so beautiful, Allison.” He whispered reverently, pushing a sweat-dampened lock of hair away from her face. 

Allison smiled shakily at Stiles, poking gently at his hand when she was able to get into gear. “If I am, it’s only because you made me like this.” She told him, cupping his cheek. “You’re just as beautiful.” She paused uncertainly. “I can use ‘beautiful’ for a guy, right?” She couldn’t help laughing at herself, even as she leaned in to kiss Stiles again. “I’m so gone for you.” She murmured.

“You can describe me however you want, as long as it’s not too mean.” Stiles teased. “And that’s mutual. I mean, I feel like everyone else in the world might as well be wallpaper or something, when it comes to you. I don’t know why I... no, hold on. This is too awkward to say right now.” He kissed her again and laughed. “I was going to get up and get dressed to keep complimenting you by kind of insulting certain other people we know, but I don’t want to move. I like you being right here.” 

Allison wiggled in place, grinning and giggling down at him. “I like here _right now_ , too.” She told him. “I’m not budging until I absolutely have to.” She leaned forward to kiss him soundly. “Stiles, you know I care about you, right? And how much?” She asked. 

“I have a pretty good idea.” Stiles nodded. “And I know that we’ll get closer as we go. Chloe is proof of that.” He smiled. “I think we can kind of agree on how we feel about each other, though. I mean, it’s only been a couple of weeks and that sounds crazy, but it’s been a couple of months since we started talking again and we’ve known each other for almost two years now. So I don’t think of it as being too fast. I think we’re just making up for lost time.” 

Beaming at him, Allison squirmed as close to him as she could. “Exactly how I feel about it.” She agreed, nodding. “I’ve always cared about you, as Scott’s friend, and then as my friend, and now… It’s just more. It feels like natural progression.”

Stiles kissed Allison again and rubbed her back, sighing when he heard car doors close in the driveway. “Okay, I’m gonna go, uh, finish myself off in the bathroom. I’ll see you downstairs?” 

Allison sat up and nodded, leaning in to kiss him again sweetly. “Wish I could help you.” She murmured, and ran her hand over his hip and trailing it up to his belly.

“Next time.” Stiles smiled playfully and got up from the bed, grabbing his shirt and jeans and going into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.


	9. We Protect, part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott sighed. “They probably will be good together. They’re more similar than Allison and I ever were, anyway. Sometimes, the way Stiles reacts to things kind of scares me a little, and Allison’s sort of the same.”
> 
> Lydia smiled. “I told Allison that same thing. If they ever get into an argument, we’ll have to hide. Or leave town. It won’t be safe here.”

_December 11, 2012_

Allison got dressed slowly, a silly smile on her face, and she walked downstairs to meet everyone else at the door. “Welcome back, guys.”

Lydia gave Allison a knowing smile. “Thanks. Come help with this stuff? We got a bed for her. It’s one of those fold-up mattresses.” She started pulling clothes out of one of the bags, glancing over at Scott. 

Allison nodded. “Sure thing. Stiles is sti- uh, Stiles is upstairs.” She grinned sheepishly.

Scott lifted his head and looked at Allison before he caught Lydia’s gaze and looked back down again.

Lydia leaned toward Scott until her side was resting against his. “You should learn a new language.” She murmured, busying herself with removing tags from dresses. “Every time Jackson and I broke up, I distracted myself by finding a new interest and focusing on it. Why else would I bother learning archaic Latin?” She looked up at him. “Actually, I’ve been looking into a few things lately that might interest you, but I’m not telling you unless you can promise me you won’t focus on any possible joy you might get out of what we find.” 

Scott pulled out several of the other things they’d gotten for Chloe, leaning back against Lydia and relaxing easily against her side. “What sort of things?” He asked before he blinked and sighed. “I promise I won’t jump for joy?”

“I think there’s a reason why Allison came back here, just as Kira was leaving. If I left town for a month, you would probably find out there’s another banshee at our school. I think Stiles’ fascination with chess might be getting to me a little, but it still strikes me as strange that the timing was almost too convenient.” Lydia pulled a sticker off of a pair of jeans and folded them, setting them on the table in front of her. “We need to know who the last true Alpha was and what the circumstances were that made them that way.” 

“The last true Alpha?” Scott repeated, frowning, watching silently as the Sheriff playfully slung Chloe over his shoulder and carried her to the kitchen, Allison following and laughing. “You think it’s really important about what’s going on? All I know about it is what Deaton’s told me about it, but that can’t hold true for everyone, right?”

“If he or she was part of a group similar to ours, it could be possible that we’re just in some sort of historical time loop. Stiles mentioned something like that earlier and it got me thinking about things like this.” Lydia explained. “There are a lot of theories, even further back than what Nostradamus was talking about. Allison and Kira were here at the same time for a while, but it seemed like Allison was trying to train Kira a little and help her become who she was supposed to be. I can practically feel trouble heading for her, in New York. Nothing that will kill her. Them, maybe. Whoever they are. But then Stiles got himself a girlfriend that just happened to be Allison, and now she’s come back here. Jackson and Isaac should be back before Christmas. I think next semester just might be every bit as bad as the past couple of school years. Chloe is here because whatever we’re facing, it’s going to happen soon and Stiles didn’t want to risk himself or Allison running into their past selves. Our Stiles is complaining about his future self’s lack of foresight, but a four year old running around town with a suitcase she can barely lift looks much worse than the way he did find her, don’t you think?” 

Scott sat down and put his hands in his lap, furrowing his brows together as he thought. “It kind of makes sense, yeah, but I can understand why he’s flipping out, too. And now that you mention it… Yeah, it does seem like things are converging or something. Almost like Kira was just supposed to be a filler here until Allison came back, and her whole family getting uprooted and going to New York was like she was getting assigned to a different location. Being stationed at a different hot spot.”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. I think it’s good that Stiles and Allison are together. I know you disagree, or you sort of do, anyway. But they work well together and the things that Stiles isn’t so good at, Allison is. And the same holds true, the other way. They’ll make a good team in a different way than you and Allison did. You’ll see. I was a little worried that this was a side-effect of whatever’s going on, but Allison wanted to come back here before she started talking to Stiles.” 

“And she just didn’t tell anyone except for you, I guess. And Stiles.” Scott sighed. “They probably will be good together. They’re more similar than Allison and I ever were, anyway. Sometimes, the way Stiles reacts to things kind of scares me a little, and Allison’s sort of the same.”

Lydia smiled. “I told Allison that same thing. If they ever get into an argument, we’ll have to hide. Or leave town. It won’t be safe here.” 

Scott let out a short bark of a laugh. “I feel like that might be an understatement. God, I hope they don’t get into an argument.”

Lydia pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down beside Scott, glancing over her shoulder when Stiles came downstairs. She turned back toward Scott. “You’re more than welcome to hide out at my house, if it happens.” 

Scott smiled over at her. “I’ll take you up on that. But we might have to build you a bunker to hide in.”

“I’ll consider it an acceptable Christmas gift.” Lydia remarked. “Sweaters are overrated.” She was a little surprised to find herself wondering what Scott would do if she leaned in just a little more. They had kissed before, and she hadn’t been disappointed, but she doubted that he had any real interest in her. It had probably been a combination of effort to make Allison jealous and an inability to control his urges. It would be a bad move, since he still wanted Allison now, and Lydia hated wasting her time. 

Scott grinned faintly, looking back down at the clothes piled in front of them. “I’m not that good at picking out clothes, anyway. All of this would probably have been tiny jeans and tiny t-shirts if you’d left it up to me.” 

“But you managed to reach the shelves that were over my head.” Lydia reminded him. “So it wasn’t the worst shopping experience. The last thing I needed was a snotty sales clerk acting like she was doing me a favor by earning her paycheck.” 

Scott shrugged, smiling. “Some people just hate their jobs, and they take it out on everyone else. You can’t make everyone happy, but you can make their situation bearable. She just needed to be thanked, is all. My mom always does it.”

“Well, either way, thank _you._ ” Lydia smiled. 

***

Stiles glanced down at Chloe as he held her hand, waiting for Allison to answer the door. He was more than a little nervous, but he felt like it was only right for Chris to get to meet Chloe, since his dad had been given that same courtesy, regardless of the fact that they didn’t know what was going on at the time. 

Allison pulled the door open, staring nervously at Stiles and Chloe. She smiled a tiny bit at Stiles, reaching for his hand. “I tried to prep my dad for this, but… I don’t think he quite got it. He’ll figure it out once he gets a look at Chloe, though.” She tugged on Stiles’ hand, gesturing them both in.

Stiles lifted Chloe with one arm, carrying her around the waist as he went into the apartment. He set her down gently and looked up at Chris. The hunter didn’t intimidate him too much, but he wasn’t looking at Chris-the-hunter, he was looking at Mr. Argent, Allison’s dad and Chloe’s other grandfather, and once _Mr. Argent_ figured out what was going on, then Stiles might change his mind about which Chris scared him the most. 

Allison led them into the apartment, trying not to show precisely how nervous she really was. When she’d opened the door to the apartment only to see her father standing in front of the living room couch with his arms spread wide and a grin on his face, she’d shrieked and flung herself at him, any other thoughts in her mind fleeing in the face of the fact that her father was back. Now, though, all of those thoughts were back, rolling around in her head and doing their fair best to make it difficult for her to think, or calm down. She was fairly certain that despite everything they’d been through, her father thought she still needed to be coddled, or protected, and imagining what his reaction could possibly be when she introduced him to his _granddaughter_ wasn’t doing anything good for her nerves. She smiled shakily at Stiles. “He’s out on the balcony. Go sit on the couch, and I’ll be right back with him.”

Stiles caught Allison’s hand and pulled her close for a kiss. “Hey.” He murmured, smiling faintly at her. “Whatever he has to say about it, he can’t change anything. She’s here. We made her. We _will_ make her.” He grinned. “Okay?” 

Allison took a deep breath and smiled back at him, nodding. “Okay.” She replied and kissed him back softly. Biting her lower lip, she squeezed his hand, then ran her hand gently over Chloe’s dark brown hair and grinned again, ducking her head and heading for the balcony.

Stiles sat down on the couch and held his hands out to Chloe, to help her climb up onto the couch and sit beside him. She had been talkative on the way over, giving him details about what shopping with Lydia and Scott had been like, but now she was silent and fidgeting with her shoes. 

“Allison, what is this about?” Chris asked, frowning as he followed Allison inside. He shot a frown at Stiles, but gave him a nod. And then his eyes darted down to Chloe, and his expression darkened with confusion. “Who’s this?” He asked, approaching the two carefully.

Allison cleared her throat and followed him, standing so that she was at Stiles’ side, facing her father. “Dad, you know Stiles, of course. This is… This is Chloe.” She coughed. “My - our - little girl.”

Chloe looked up at Chris. “Hi.” She waved, smiling. 

Stiles stood up. “She showed up last night while I was working and I thought she was just lost... well, not _just_ lost, no kid is ever just lost. But she sat there for hours and nobody came to get her, and well, Scott says she only smells like me, Allison and my dad, but that was after she hugged my dad a lot, and she looks like me, so... um...” He looked over at Allison. 

Allison swallowed. “Based on what we currently know, or have managed to narrow down, she’s our daughter from the future. At least about two-thousand and twenty. We think Stiles - future Stiles, I mean - may have sent her back here so that nothing could - so that we could protect her. But Scott says that she doesn’t have anyone else’s scent on her except ours. And just - I mean, look at her, Dad.” She directed her gaze at Chloe, smiling helplessly. “She looks just like a tiny Stiles, just a girl and with my hair.”

Chris stood frozen, staring at the three of them. He took a step backward. “That doesn’t mean that she’s yours, Allison. I agree, she’s got an uncanny resemblance to Stiles, but that doesn’t always mean anything, either.” He lowered his voice and tugged his daughter off to the side. “Just because she smells like she’s yours, looks like she’s yours, it doesn’t mean she _is_. She could be anything, Allison. She could have stolen some child’s face to trick you.”

Allison shook her head. “It’s not - no, Dad. Stiles and I both feel it. She’s ours. She feels like ours. We both want to protect her.”

“Someone could have placed a spell on you both. You wouldn’t know the difference, you would think that taking care of her was a normal decision on your part. Are you telling me, seriously, that neither one of you has felt the tiniest bit uneasy about this? At all?”

Stiles shook his head. “No, I haven’t. I’m around kids a lot, especially this time of year, since there’s always some community stuff going on and my dad likes having an extra set of eyes in case somebody tries to be a jack- a rude person.” He glanced at Chloe, then looked back at Chris. “But I’ve never been as attentive to them as I have with her. Or at least, it felt different, in a way I couldn’t figure out until Scott and Lydia mentioned it, and then it made sense.” 

Allison moved around them and bent down to sit next to Chloe, lifting the little girl into her lap and wrapping her arms around her. “Same with me. She’s special, Dad.” She glanced down at Chloe, then rested her head gently against the younger girl’s. “She’s important, and you need to know that. You deserved to know that, and that’s why we’re telling you now.”

Chris stared at them silently. “This is going to take a lot of time for me to wrap my mind around it.” He said finally. “I’m still getting used to the idea of you dating the Sheriff’s kid, Allison, and now I have to work my brain around the idea that your child from the _future_ has come back in time to be protected by you?”

Allison snorted. “It’s easier for you to believe that she’s something evil in disguise in a world where banshees, werewolves, wendigos and nogitsune exist, than the fact that she might actually be my little girl?”

“Allison and I were on our own with her for at least ten minutes last night, she could have attacked us then if that’s what she wanted, but she didn’t. Because that’s not who she is.” Stiles was getting irritated by the fact that Chris was saying all of this, and forcing him and Allison to respond, in front of Chloe. 

Chloe tilted her head back and stared up at Chris, then reached out for Stiles. “Sit down.” She demanded, tugging his hand. 

Allison grabbed onto Stiles’ hand as well, wrapping her fingers firmly around both Chloe’s and Stiles’. “Yeah, sit down, Stiles.” She murmured. Looking up at her father, she sighed. “I can’t force you to believe this, to believe us, or even her, but these are the facts as we know them, Dad. We told you about this out of courtesy, because you’re my dad, and possibly her grandfather, and I love you, but unless she does something completely heinous to disprove everything we’ve already said to you in the next twenty minutes, you’re going to have to believe me.”

Chris folded his arms, narrowing his eyes at both of them. “Have you even considered having a DNA test done?”

“I have a fear of needles.” Stiles admitted, sitting down beside Allison and smiling at Chloe before he looked up at Chris. “I wouldn’t subject her to having her blood drawn, just on the off chance that she might have the same problem. I did think of it, but I don’t need it. She’s ours. Or she will be, or whatever.” 

“He doesn’t like me.” Chloe said quietly. 

“Hey, that’s not true.” Stiles frowned. “He just doesn’t know you. Most of the time, grandparents get to see their grandkids as babies, and they don’t time-travel. He’s supposed to be skeptical of stuff like this, but we’re just trying to make sure he knows it’s okay.” 

Allison ran a hand over Chloe’s head soothingly. “And he _will_ understand that it’s okay, because I told him that it is. If he doesn’t believe it, then he doesn’t trust me.” She looked up, narrowed eyes on her father. “Do you not trust me, Dad?”

Chris sighed. “You know I trust you, Ally, but this is a lot to take in. A child appearing from out of nowhere that happens to look like you and Stiles and carries trace hints of your scents on her? You can understand why I _am_ skeptical.” He glanced at Stiles. “I don’t think I’m being unreasonable here. There are other ways to conduct DNA tests than with needles.” He glanced down at Chloe for a long moment, his eyes going soft as he sighed. “I just - it pays to be sure.”

“Well, we’re sure.” Stiles retorted. He looked over at Allison. “Maybe we should humor him, just so he can see that we’re right. But this doesn’t go further than Scott’s mom.” 

Allison looked exasperated, but nodded. “Alright, fine. If this is what it takes for you to believe us, Dad, then fine, we’ll go get a DNA test done. Okay?”

Chris smiled faintly. “Alright. If the test results are positive, you’ll have something to wave over my head for the rest of my life, okay?”

‘I already do.” Stiles muttered. “Okay, I’m taking her back to my house and making sure she gets a bath before bed. Actually, you’d probably better handle the bath, Ally.” He made a face. “I’m still a little twitchy about some of this stuff.” 

Allison grinned and leaned forward to kiss him. “I’m guessing you’ll have gotten less squeamish by the time we actually _have_ Chloe.” She teased him and stood up, lifting Chloe onto her hip and wrapping her arms soundly around the little girl. She looked at her father with a sigh. “I love you, Dad. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Chris sighed. “I love you, too, Allison. I’ll see you later.” He gave Chloe a small smile and a wave, hating that he felt guilty for doubting what was obviously his daughter’s gut instincts making themselves known.


	10. Cowabunga, Dudes!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I told Allison you’re going to abandon me for better people one of these days and she thinks I’m wrong. I think you’ve already started.” 
> 
> Scott looked stunned. “What are you even talking about? Why the hell would I ever leave you behind? You’re my best friend, man. You were my _only_ friend for a long freaking time, and I wouldn’t just - just _forget_ that and dump you. I don’t care what new people come into my life, they aren’t you, and they’ve got nothing on us, got it? It’s always been you and me, ‘til the end of the line.” He straightened and shrugged. “I haven’t seen that finishing line yet, bro.”
> 
> “You know that me being with Allison doesn’t mean I’m leaving you behind either, right?” Stiles murmured, glancing up at Scott. “Having you mad at me and avoiding me sucks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's very mild violence in this, if you squint. I'm not tagging it, but if someone comments and thinks it needs a warning, I'll take care of that.

_December 12, 2012_

Stiles unzipped his backpack and pulled out a few books, setting them on Derek’s kitchen table. He held a plastic-wrapped Happy Meal toy out to Allison, smiling at her. “Merry Christmas.” 

Lydia looked up at Stiles and Allison, rolling her eyes before she looked back down at the book in front of her. She had used her free period to go to the Beacon County Historical Society’s office, a building that looked like an old barn from the outside. She talked them into giving her a cheaper price on the book of old newspaper articles by pointing out how many copies they had, just gathering dust. Every article, from January first of nineteen-ten to December thirty-first of nineteen-fourteen was in the book. “Some of us are actually trying to look into things. Maybe you should help.” 

Malia looked up from beside Lydia, her head cocked curiously to the side. She poked at the wrapped green plastic. “What is it?”

Allison ignored them both, taking the toy from Stiles and unwrapping it with a grin. “How’d you know I liked Raphael?” She asked, looking amused.

Stiles smiled. “I didn’t, but everybody likes the Ninja Turtles.” He shrugged. 

“I don’t like the Ninja Turtles.” Lydia remarked, her eyes glued to her book. 

“What are ninja turtles?” Malia interrupted, her eyes darting between each person in the group.

“What are ninja...” Stiles stared at Malia. “Okay, that’s just sad.” He turned toward Lydia. “I figured _you_ would be more interested in April O’Neil.” 

“I like the dual katana blades.” Scott piped up.

Derek hid a grin. “I would have thought you’d like the nunchuks better.”

Scott grinned back. “The nunchuks _are_ pretty awesome,” he agreed.

Stiles glanced over at Scott. “Do you think they’re ready?” He smiled. “I blame McDonald’s for what’s about to happen, I really do.” 

Scott’s grin widened. “They so aren’t ready.”

Malia blinked in utter confusion, finally turning to glower at Liam. “What is happening right now?”

Liam shrugged. “I just hope they don’t start playing around with nunchuks. Stiles lacks coordination on the lacrosse field. I don’t want to see him in an enclosed space with weapons.” 

Lydia sighed and sat back, looking up at Scott and Stiles. “I guess research will have to wait.” 

Stiles ignored her. “Can anyone tell me who or what this is?” 

Scott grimaced. “Dunno, but I bet it never has to look for a can opener.”

Stiles rubbed his hands together, thinking. “So, what do we do now?” It was a vague quote, but he hoped Scott remembered the entire scene, or it just wasn’t worth it. 

“What do you mean, what do we do now?” Scott snorted.

Allison pressed her lips together, bouncing on the balls of her feet and looking delighted. “Splinter’s out there somewhere!”

Derek’s attempt to hide his grin finally failed. “I _know_ Splinter’s out there.”

Stiles glanced at Allison and winked, then looked back at Scott. “Fight?” 

“Fight.” Scott nodded.

“Kitchen?” Stiles was a little disappointed that Lydia still looked annoyed and Malia looked confused, but he saw it as an opportunity to make everyone watch the movies as a pack, as soon as possible.

Scott glanced at Lydia and Malia as well, and his face fell a little, but he still responded to Stiles enthusiastically. “Kitchen. Yeah.”

“So, what are we gonna do about it?” Stiles gave Scott a reassuring smile. He knew things were still different between them, but they seemed like they were getting better. If Stiles had to spend the next few weeks running around in a cape and making Scott watch cartoons with him, that’s what he was going to do. 

“What _can_ we do about it?” Derek raised his eyebrows, and grinned at Scott.

Scott grinned back. “April’s our only link to these guys. We have to wait until she comes up with something.”

Allison folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, so that’s the plan from the ‘great leader’, huh? Just sit here on our butts?”

“I never said I was a great leader.” Stiles quoted. He didn’t want to analyze it too closely, but the entire scene could have been taking place for real, within the pack. And he was going to hug Derek when it was over, no matter what the werewolf thought, since he’d had no idea that Derek was as familiar with the movie as the rest of them were.

Derek glanced at Stiles like he knew what the younger man was thinking, and his next words seemed oddly profound when he spoke them. “Well, you sure act like it sometimes.” Unlike the biting derision in the movie, Derek’s words were spoken with a hint of sincerity, and the older werewolf nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Stiles opened his mouth to utter the next line, but he couldn’t do it. He glanced at Scott, gesturing for him to go ahead. 

Scott’s mouth dropped open, and he looked back and forth between Stiles and Derek, shaking his head.

Stiles frowned and narrowed his eyes as he turned to face Scott. He wasn’t in the mood to ignore things anymore, the last few weeks of school had been awful. “Yeah? Well, you act like a _jerk_ sometimes, you know that? And this attitude of yours isn't helping anything.”

Scott’s eyes widened. “Yeah? Well maybe I’ll just take my attitude and _leave_!” He blurted, smacking his hand against Stiles’ arm.

Liam had been silent, feeling left out as the others took turns quoting from a scene in a movie he had never watched, but when it started to turn into a real argument, he could only stare helplessly. He was grateful that they had been working with him on controlling his anger, but he wondered if they had forgotten how to control their own. 

Malia’s head turned, her eyes widening as she looked from Stiles to Scott and back again, as though watching a tennis match. She wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but she could feel her own hackles rising, and was fighting to keep a growl from emerging, staring at the two boys almost eagerly.

Allison’s smile faded, and she exchanged a worried look with Derek, stepping back from the other two boys and all but using Derek as a shield.

Stiles swatted at Scott’s hand. “Why don’t you?” 

Lydia got up from the table and walked over to stand with Allison and Derek. “This isn’t how the scene goes, is it?” 

Allison cringed and shook her head. “Not the slapping part.” She murmured.

Derek sighed. “I can practically smell the tension on them, still. They need this. I’d prefer it not to be right _now_ but beggars can’t be choosers.”

Scott scowled and jammed his thumb into Stiles’ side. “I will!”

“Good!” Stiles yelled, scowling. He took a step back to get away from Scott, shaking his head. He was grateful that Chloe was with his dad and couldn’t see this. 

Scott’s jaw clenched and his nostrils flared as he sucked in deep breaths. “ _Great!_ ” He snapped, gritting his teeth.

Stiles froze, wondering if he should bother continuing. He was supposed to be Leonardo, yelling that the other Turtles didn’t need Raphael, but everything had gotten out of control and he was worried that if he said it, if he even meant a fraction of the emotion behind the words, Scott might take it too seriously and actually go. 

Allison reached for Lydia’s hand, clutching it tightly and nervously. She took a deep breath, watching the two boys warily.

Scott panted, staring at Stiles in hurt and confusion, the words they’d been quoting coming back and turning inside his mind like a revolving door. He didn’t know what to do - this had started out as fun, but they’d gotten carried away, and everything they were saying felt like Stiles meant the words, right to his very core. He clammed up suddenly, turning away and retreating, taking up a seat on Derek’s couch and huddling up on it silently.

Stiles decided that hugging Derek would just have to wait. He sat down beside Scott and glanced over at him. He thought of apologizing, but he wouldn’t really mean it and there would be no point in lying to Scott and making everything worse. “I started talking to Allison in October and I didn’t tell you.” He said finally, his voice quiet. “She told me to tell you that she said hi and I was going to, but I didn’t want to.” 

“You wanted to keep her to yourself.” Scott mumbled dully, twining his fingers around each other and staring down at them. “I know the feeling.”

“I still have days when I feel like the walls are closing in on me.” Stiles took a deep breath. “Sometimes I’m happy that I have her, but then I wonder what’s going to happen next.” He knew that everyone could hear them, but he pretended it was just him and Scott, talking like they always did. “Nobody ever gets that much good without a freaking avalanche of shit afterward.” 

“Neither of us ever did.” Scott admitted. “Seems like anytime something good happened to one of us, the shit hit the fan right after it, usually for the other.” He brought his arms up to his chest and folded them. “I don’t - you’re my brother, okay? But you’re a supreme dickhead sometimes. You really are.” He was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. “Doesn’t mean I love you any less, or that I want you to be miserable, dude.”

“I know I am.” Stiles murmured. “A dickhead, I mean. You’re this town’s golden boy, I can’t measure up to that, so I just do the opposite.” He smiled sadly. “I told Allison you’re going to abandon me for better people one of these days and she thinks I’m wrong. I think you’ve already started.” 

Scott looked stunned. “What are you even talking about? Why the hell would I ever leave you behind? You’re my best friend, man. You were my _only_ friend for a long freaking time, and I wouldn’t just - just _forget_ that and dump you. I don’t care what new people come into my life, they aren’t you, and they’ve got nothing on us, got it? It’s always been you and me, ‘til the end of the line.” He straightened and shrugged. “I haven’t seen that finishing line yet, bro.”

“You know that me being with Allison doesn’t mean I’m leaving you behind either, right?” Stiles murmured, glancing up at Scott. “Having you mad at me and avoiding me sucks.” 

Scott nodded slowly. “Yeah. I just… It’s hard, you know?” He glanced over at Allison, catching her gaze as it locked on them in worry. “Letting go of a dream should be easier, I think.” He went silent again, then looked back at Stiles. “I really hate being mad at you. And avoiding you is worse. We bump into each other twenty times a day between classes and I’ve already spent three years just memorizing the quickest routes. I’m not remapping the whole school in my head just to avoid you.” He shot Stiles a small smile.

“You know I’d just stalk you through the halls, anyway.” Stiles retorted. “And I’d make sure you got detention. I’d end up with it too, but the thing is, I wouldn’t go.” 

“And I would because I’d be too worried they’d call my mom and give her a million _other_ things to worry about.” Scott sighed.

“See, I wanna say something now like, ‘nevermind, I wouldn’t do that to you,’ but we both know I would, being a dickhead and all.” Stiles murmured. “Are we okay enough to say we’ll be back to normal in the next week?” 

Scott didn’t answer right away, sliding his hand so that it was gripping the opposite bicep and rubbing nervously. “I don’t know.” He said softly. “Maybe a week and a half?”

“Are we negotiating this now?” Stiles laughed, but he felt a little nervous. “Eight days.” 

Scott couldn’t help the laugh the came out. “Ten.” He stated firmly.

“Nine days and four hours.” Stiles countered, grinning. “And if you argue that with me, I will leave right now.” 

Scott’s chin jutted upward, and because he just couldn’t help himself, he challenged, “Nine days, four hours and forty-six minutes.”

Stiles’s lips twitched. He got up from the couch and grabbed his backpack, putting his books back into it. Once the backpack was zipped shut and he had his coat, he walked over to the elevator and got in, sending Scott a text. ‘Nine days, four hours and twenty minutes.’ 

Scott grinned faintly, sending a reply immediately. ‘Nine days, four hours, ten minutes and twenty-six seconds.’ He stood up ignoring the rest of the group, and waited at the door to Derek’s loft.

Stiles pressed the button to open the elevator doors, leaning out. “You’re an asshole.” He smiled. 

Scott leaned against the door jamb, folding his arms over his chest with a smirk. “Guess I’m in good company, then.”

“If my kid can time travel, I say I can too, and guess what? As far as I’m concerned, it’s been...” Stiles glanced down at his phone to reread the text message from Scott. “Nine days, four hours, ten minutes and twenty-six seconds. If you don’t give me a hug, I’m telling your mom what you did with the first box of condoms she found in your room, just so she can make fun of you.” 

Scott paled instantly and glanced behind him at the others in paranoia before nearly tripping over himself to hug Stiles tightly. “Fucking dick, I swear to god if you _ever_ say anything to her, ever, I will hug you until you can’t breathe anymore.”

Stiles laughed and hugged Scott. “I almost want to see you try that on someone one day, just so I can sneak into the morgue and read the autopsy report.” 

“I save my amorous murdering style for really important people.” Scott replied dryly, poking Stiles in his side.

“Aww.” Stiles batted his eyelashes at Scott and walked back into the apartment. He got his books back out of his backpack. “Okay, Lydia’s going to murder us if we don’t actually do research like we came over here to do.” He glanced at Derek, then walked over and hugged him. “I didn’t know you knew Ninja Turtles.” 

“I grew up in the nineties, Stiles.” Derek sighed, awkwardly patting the younger man’s back. “If you didn’t watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you were a loser. My sisters never failed to remind me. Never.”

“You know we’re all going to watch it soon, right? The kids haven’t seen it yet.” Stiles nodded, stepping back from Derek and sitting down at the table. He opened one of the books from the stack he had set down. 

Allison sniffed, leaning against Lydia’s shoulder with a faint smile. “Yes, Stiles, we know.”

Stiles looked up at Allison, then held his arms out to her, motioning for her to come closer. 

Allison jumped up and quickly moved toward him, burrowing into his arms and nestling her cheek against his chest.

Stiles smiled and kissed Allison. “Are you crying?” He whispered, looking up at her. 

Allison shook her head adamantly and kissed him back before hiding her face against the crook of his neck. “No,” she said stubbornly.

Stiles rubbed Allison’s shoulder. “You are, and it’s okay.” He closed his eyes for a moment. With everything that had happened in the past few days, he was exhausted and was actually having trouble deciding whether he wanted to curl up with Allison or Scott, for very different reasons. 

Allison let out a soft sigh, curling against him as closely as possible, her arms slipping around his waist and curving up against his back.

Scott watched them and, while the hurt would take a while to fade, he could smile, too.

Malia sat back, looking vaguely disappointed with the conclusion that the argument had reached, and huffed, crossing her arms over her breasts. “That was anticlimactic. What’s supposed to happen next?”

Lydia sat down on the couch and put her head down on the arm of it, groaning in frustration. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until the Lifetime movie happening in here is over, before we actually figure out what happened with the last true alpha and why there wasn’t another one until now.” 

Allison rolled her eyes. “Clearly because there’s never been another soul on the planet that is as much of a whiny, self-sacrificing doof as Scott McCall.” She glanced at Scott and gave him a small smile. “We’re probably lucky there isn’t.”

Scott smiled back sheepishly and took a seat between Lydia and Liam. He nudged Lydia lightly in the side. “Come on, it’s not so bad, is it? I thought you liked Lifetime?”

“I like Nicholas Sparks and the occasional Nora Roberts novel.” Lydia corrected. “I don’t like that something out there is playing with us like we’re a life-sized chess game and you dorks want to stand around and talk about turtles with nunchuks.” 

“I see absolutely nothing wrong with standing around and talking about giant, anthropomorphic, classically trained in the martial arts, pizza obsessed ninja turtles. It’s _always_ a good time to talk about ninja turtles.” Scott nodded.

“So it’s okay with you that Erica, Boyd and Heather died because they might have been pawns in someone else’s game?” Lydia countered. She knew she was crossing a line, but she was tired and scared. If her theory was true, then the Martins had been living in Beacon Hills and finding corpses for generations, and only because someone or something out there chose them to fill a role.

Scott jerked backward, staring at Lydia in shock. His mouth opened to protest, and he blinked rapidly before looking down. “I guess not.” He said softly, and stood up.

Derek put his hand on Scott’s shoulder, clenching it gently in his grip as he gave Lydia a hard stare and a low growl. “Too. Far.”

Liam started to get to his feet as well, but stopped when Derek walked around the couch in record time. After what had happened with the berserker, Liam felt like he finally had a real place in the pack and would likely one day be Scott’s second-in-command, but he hadn’t had any real opportunity like that since. Not that he wanted Scott to be in danger like that again, it just seemed like the older members of the pack had closed ranks and shut him out. Scott was the only one that really made him feel welcome. 

Malia huddled protectively next to Lydia, forcing herself not to growl back at her cousin, though her teeth had no qualms about bearing themselves.

Lydia nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. I was up all night and I’ve been using every spare minute to try to find out who the other alpha was. It’s not an excuse, just take it however you’re going to take it. I hate not having the answers for anything, and I sort of thought all of you knew that about me by now.” 

“Sleep.” Stiles twisted around a little in his seat, his arms wrapping around Allison’s waist to keep her from falling. “We’ll research. Liam and Malia can go get food and try to convince Deaton to cough up a name or two for us.” He glanced at Scott. “You’re good with all of that, right?” 

Scott nodded quietly, avoiding everyone else’s eyes. Lydia’s words had struck a nerve, whether she’d meant them to or not, and all he could think of now was the fact that Boyd had once wanted to be like him, that Erica had once had a huge crush on Stiles, that Heather had actually known Stiles since they’d been in diapers, and that maybe it wasn’t entirely his fault that they’d been taken, but he hadn’t exactly leant a hand to help find them, to save them, had he?

“This is fucked up.” Stiles blurted. “Okay, the hell with dinner, right now. Everybody sit down somewhere.” He sighed, watching all of them move back to the couch and the other chairs around the table. “We’re all tired and we’re all on edge right now for one reason or another, and we didn’t come here to fight, so how about if we just don’t do that?” He made a face. “Well, not any more than we already have. Scott, nobody blames you for anything that’s happened. We’ve all been through hell of some kind. We’ll order food, some of us will sleep, some of us will research. We’ll keep taking turns if we have to, and we’ll ditch school if we have to, and anyone that fights is going to have to hug it out like we’re on a shitty sitcom from the eighties, which I think Scott and I proved works, so... that’s it.” He looked around at his friends. “Any objections?” 

Allison smiled softly at him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Not from me.” She murmured.

Derek shook his head, and patted Scott’s shoulder in comfort. 

Malia shrugged, losing interest entirely in what Stiles and the rest were saying. “I’m hungry and tired.” She said simply.

Scott sighed. “No.”

Stiles felt a little bad that he was giving orders, knowing that Scott should have been the one to do it, but he didn’t think his friend’s self-esteem would allow for that right now. “Okay. Liam, order three or four pizzas. Malia, why don’t you and Allison go get something to drink? Lydia should sleep for a couple of hours, and I’ll start looking into the last pack that had a true alpha.” He glanced at Scott. “You just do whatever you need to do, all right?” 

Scott nodded at Stiles. “Okay.”

Malia all but fell out of her seat, nearly gluing herself to Lydia’s side and taking her hand. “Come on and rest.” She said quietly, tugging gently.

Liam got out his phone and called to order one plain cheese, one ham and pineapple and two pepperoni pizzas. 

Lydia looked up at Malia, struggling to keep her eyes open. Once she had admitted to her exhaustion, it was like a tidal wave. “Okay.” She mumbled. “But I can get myself there. Wherever there is.” 

“Of course you can.” Malia told her patiently. “And I’m coming with you.” She took firm hold of the other girl’s arm and nearly dragged her up the spiral staircase in the corner of the room.

Stiles laughed. “Okay, I guess you’re on your own to get the drinks, then.” He told Allison. “Sorry, baby.” He eyed her cautiously. “It’s okay for me to call you that, right? Because if it’s not, I won’t do it again.” 

Allison felt a slow blush crawl up her neck to her cheeks, and couldn’t help the grin that grew with it. “I am _perfectly_ okay with that. I think you should definitely call me that more.”

Stiles’ face was just as red as Allison’s. “Okay.” He nodded. “I’ll remember that.” He kissed her gently. “Hurry back?” 

Allison kissed him back lightly, stroking the back of his neck. “Absolutely.” She hummed and heaved herself off of his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've been wondering at all (and even if you haven't) what we talk about when we plan out these chapters? It's mostly a bunch of reading up on mythology and trying to figure out what to use and what to discard, to fit into what we're trying to do. _Very intellectual stuff._ And then there are moments like this...
> 
> Kate: I TYPED MINAJ INSTEAD OF NINJA AND NOW I'M DYING.
> 
> Also, I don't regret this chapter title at all and I think everyone needs to go watch TMNT II and then go watch The New Guy, because Vanilla Ice's acting has really improved over the years. 
> 
> You should also know not to take me too seriously.
> 
> Comments are welcome and feedback is appreciated!


	11. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia looked pensive, not wanting to ask until she had to, but she had to. “Did Peter know?” The last thing she wanted to do was go see the insane werewolf. She knew that nobody in the pack would let her go alone, at least. 
> 
> Derek promptly grimaced, looking away. “Peter was the historian in the family.” He admitted. “If anyone knew, it would have been him.”

_December 13, 2012  
12:30 am_

Lydia woke up and looked around in confusion. She was in Derek’s bed and there was warm breath on the back of her neck. She glanced over her shoulder, smiling a little at the sight of Malia behind her. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about the way the other girl behaved around her, but she wasn’t questioning it too much, and she wondered if she should be. She didn’t want to keep encouraging Malia, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to discourage her, either. Of course, her thoughts immediately turned to Scott, then Jackson. She felt a little guilty as she got up from the bed, shoving a pillow into the space she had vacated and trying not to laugh as she crept down the stairs. 

Malia let out a low growl, muffled by the pillow she eventually twined her arms around, and then quieted down, snuffling a little at the remainder of Lydia’s scent. She settled back into sleep not long after.

Scott looked up as Lydia came down the stairs, then smiled hesitantly at her.

Lydia walked over to Scott, sitting down by him. “Good morning. Or whatever time it is. I know I slept more than two hours.” She stared at him, trying to wake herself up a little more and convince herself not to do anything stupid. “You know, it might not hurt for you to ask Malia to use that super-powered nose of hers and sniff out a girlfriend for you. Or at least some potential ones.” 

Scott scrubbed a hand over his chin and sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think I’m ready right now. Everything with Allison… and then there might have been potential with Kira, but I guess I waited too long for that. I just…” He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready, that’s all.” He repeated.

“It was just a suggestion.” Lydia murmured, picking up one of the books and opening it. She set it down a moment later. “I’m spending this weekend at the lake house.” 

“The lake house?” Scott frowned. “Is that really a good idea?” His mind brought up tales of what had happened at the lake house in the past, and he cringed.

Lydia liked the direct approach, but she wasn’t as blunt as Malia, usually. Still, being around Malia had given Lydia a slightly different outlook. Maybe once she said what she needed to say to Scott, she could use Malia’s own conversation skills, or the lack of them, to explain herself to the girl. “Scott, do you like me?” 

Scott blinked. “Uh, yeah?” He answered simply. “I mean… We’re friends, right? I mean, I hope you think we are. If we aren’t… well, I’m embarrassed.”

“No, you imbecile...” Lydia grimaced. “Okay, this is really not how I wanted this to go. Can you ever see yourself dating me?” 

“Hey!” Scott protested, scowling. “Not - can you not call me that?” He scratched at the back of his neck and sighed. “Lydia, you’re gorgeous, and smart, and a little bit crazy. And you’re an awesome friend. Completely amazing. Any guy would be lucky to have you. But you also terrify me a little bit, and I honestly don’t… I don’t think I’d ever be enough for you.” He trailed off and sighed, his self-esteem taking an enormous header at his own words.

“Do you really think I’d be asking if I felt like that?” Lydia pointed out. “I very clearly do think you’re enough. More than enough. But if you aren’t interested, then you’re just not, and that’s okay. I don’t want you to say that you are, just to try to placate me. I’m not going to be heartbroken about it, Scott. I was just mildly curious.” 

“Okay.” Scott said simply, his voice soft. He didn’t believe Lydia’s words about his worth, but he was grateful that she’d only been questing after an answer, and not a relationship. “Because - you know, you are awesome. And I love having you for a friend. I don’t ever want to lose that.”

“You won’t.” Lydia murmured. “Now tell me what you’ve found out while I was unconscious.” She demanded. “The true alpha’s first name, maybe? A last name? His or her favorite kind of cheese? I’ll take anything, really.” 

“I think we might have hit on at least _something_ ,” Scott murmured, and tugged a heavy book toward Lydia, opening it up to a particular page that he’d marked carefully. “The Hales. Derek’s family in California dates all the way back to the mid eighteen-hundreds.” He looked at her. “If they’ve been around since that long, then it’s possible that - I mean, obviously we can’t ask them - but Derek might know some stories? Or where to find them?”

“Where _is_ Derek, anyway?” Lydia looked down at the page Scott had indicated. “You’d think he would be a good host and actually stay in his apartment while he has guests.” 

“You’d think that my guests would have the good sense not to talk about me like I’m actually a caveman, and consider that maybe I’ve gone off to make sure they’re well fed.” Derek’s voice came from behind a wall of pizza, several cartons hiding his face. “Liam, where the hell am I going?”

“Three steps to your right.” Liam directed, eyeing Lydia warily. Every time she looked in his direction, Liam was almost certain that he was going to burst into flames. 

Lydia grabbed a few cartons and set them on the table. “Obviously, if I had known you were here, I wouldn’t have said anything about your Cro-Magnon tendencies.” She retorted. “I haven’t had any coffee and I just slept for seven hours because nobody in this pack can count to two. I distinctly remember saying I wanted a two hour nap.” 

“Bearing in mind that everyone in this pack wanted a reprieve from being torn to pieces by your razor sharp tongue, consider the extra five hours a gift, from you to us.” Derek snapped at her, a growl in his voice. He turned to look at the teenager he’d come in with. “Liam, grab the paper plates and napkins for me, please.” He kept his voice level and calm with the younger man, like he was well aware that a shouting match could break out at any moment and wanted Liam kept away from the brunt of it.

“You could have saved yourself all of the trouble and saved everyone else a wasted trip if you had just told all of us in the first place that the last true alpha was a Hale!” Lydia closed her eyes, clenching her fists as she tried to calm down. No matter how furious she was, she was still twice as scared as anything else she was feeling, and she wanted to get to the lake house because she needed to put some distance between herself and Beacon Hills. She felt like she was starting to go crazy again, and between Scott’s calm words and Derek’s angry ones, she knew the rest of the pack noticed. She wanted to leave right away, but she felt like Derek owed them some answers. 

Derek stiffened and pressed his lips together firmly, glaring at Lydia. “It wasn’t like I knew.” He said quietly. “Most of the books on subjects like that in my house sort of went up in flames when the rest of my family did. And I was sixteen. It wasn’t a subject I particularly cared about. Besides, it was always just one of my mom’s stories to me. I never thought it was real, never thought it was actually _my_ family that it was passed through. All I cared about at the time was basketball, my grades, girls, not losing control of my shift - I never believed in it.” He looked up and away from Lydia, gesturing at the other dark-haired teen in the room. “Not until Scott.”

Lydia looked pensive, not wanting to ask until she had to, but she had to. “Did Peter know?” The last thing she wanted to do was go see the insane werewolf. She knew that nobody in the pack would let her go alone, at least. 

Derek promptly grimaced, looking away. “Peter was the historian in the family.” He admitted. “If anyone knew, it would have been him.” The realization was horrifying. If Peter had known about the truth behind the true Alpha, had he bitten Scott on purpose, hoping to pass the trait on? Aside from power, what on earth had been his endgame?

“Maybe we should wait and try to find the answers from a different source.” Lydia murmured. “He could just suffice as our last resort, like always.” 

Scott cleared his throat. “I, uh, I think that’s a good idea. But I’m not going with, if it turns out we need to go to him. He was crazy before… he’s worse now. I don’t know how he’d react to me being in the same room with him, and I’m not chancing it.” He looked at Lydia warily. “Maybe if it comes down to it, you shouldn’t go, either. He’s got a really unhealthy fixation on me, but it’s worse with you.”

“He’d be more likely to give me the answers, for that very reason.” Lydia pointed out. “And it wouldn’t be the first time I let a guy think he was manipulating me, just so I could get what I wanted.” She glanced down at her fingernails, not wanting to see the way Derek and Scott might feel about her admission. 

Derek’s upper lip curled in disgust and he turned around to move into the kitchen, refusing to even look at Lydia.

Scott winced and cleared his throat. “All the same, even if you do go, you aren’t going alone. You can take - uh… Stiles? With you.”

“Maybe.” Lydia mused. “Or Malia. He’s probably less likely to do anything horrendous while I’m with her.” She looked doubtful, but she thought it was worth a shot. 

“Just… whatever you do, be careful. And take wolfsbane. Allison might have that spray stuff in a mace can that you could use.” Scott put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

“Well, I don’t think I’m going today.” Lydia murmured. “As important as it is, I think it should wait.” 

“Agreed.” Scott nodded, and gave her a small smile.

Lydia nodded back at Scott and started gathering her things. “I’ll be at the lake house, like I said. I’ll see you at school on Monday.” She started buttoning her coat, not looking at Derek as she spoke. “Goodbye, Derek.” 

Derek grunted a vague ‘goodbye’, but otherwise ignored Lydia as well, making an attempt to look like he was busying himself with plating pizza.

Lydia let herself out of the apartment, closing the door behind her and taking the elevator downstairs and outside, to the nearly empty lot. She didn’t really feel like going home, but she knew that she had more than outstayed her welcome at Derek’s, and she wouldn’t even be shocked if he decided she wasn’t allowed back there. 

Scott chased after Lydia, catching up to her easily, and turned her around to set both hands on her shoulders. “Hey. I don’t know what the problem is between the two of you now - I mean, I know what it was before, but right now, I’m completely clueless - but whatever it is, he’s the only one who feels the way he does, okay? You’re important to all of us, and that isn’t going to change just because Derek has a stick up his ass when it comes to you.”

With someone on her side, Lydia could be objective, even if it meant arguing with the person defending her. “He’s probably still angry about what I did to him, because of Peter.” 

Scott was quiet for a moment, then sighed. “Maybe. But he also should know that you weren’t exactly acting under your own influence at that point. He knows what Peter is like. He knows better than _any_ of us what Peter is like. Maybe he didn’t know the lengths Peter would go to after the fire, but he knew how he acted before, and he should have been able to at least figure it out, even a little of it.”

“I’m just sorry you’re stuck with a pack of people who can’t seem to all get along at once.” Lydia murmured. “And I know I’m a big part of that problem. That’s part of why I’m disappearing for the next few days.” 

“No, Lydia.” Scott smiled gently at her. “You’re never a problem. I don’t want you to feel like every time there’s a problem, you need to vanish, because - I mean, we get into fights and everything, but I never expected things to be perfect, you know? How else are we supposed to hash things out if we don’t argue? Besides, if you’re part of the problem, so am I. I know what an ass I was being to Stiles and Allison. I didn’t mean to, but it didn’t stop me at all.”

“I just don’t like any of this. I believe that if it wasn’t you, it would have been someone else. Maybe he or she would be leading a pack where Meredith was the banshee, instead of me. Whatever it is that’s going on here, I just feel like we might not be able to stop any of it this time.” Lydia shivered. “I just want time away to give myself a break before I have to resign myself to the fact that I’ve possibly never had any real control over anything. I lied to Allison and did my best to convince her that we’ve always had choices in what we do, but I don’t know if I believe that at all.” 

Scott’s jaw tensed for a moment, but he tugged Lydia closer, hugging her tightly and resting his chin on top of her head. “If this is something else at work, maybe we won’t be able to stop it, but we can work around it, we can maybe even delay it. Whatever it is, though, whatever happens, we’re going to survive it. That’s what we do. And I’m not going to lose _anyone_ , Lydia. Understand? No one.”

Lydia nodded as she looked up at Scott. “I’ll call you as soon as I get there, so you know I’m all right.” She got her keys out of her coat pocket and started her car by pressing one of the buttons on the fob. 

Scott nodded. “Drive safe, Lydia. If you need anything at all, call me.”

Lydia smiled. “I will.” She got into her car and drove away.


	12. Echoes of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re going to tell me about the last true Alpha.” Lydia said calmly. “Everything you know, from start to finish. And you’ve got about fourteen minutes to do it.” 
> 
> Peter looked surprised. “Am I?”

_December 17, 2012_

Lydia removed her necklace, bracelet and rings, setting them in a small, plastic container. She emptied out her pockets and grimaced as she stepped out of her shoes and put on the hospital-issued pair of slippers that the nurse handed over to her. Even with all of the security measures, the staff somehow believed that the patients could escape or take over the hospital. Given the number of movies and tv shows where that exact thing happened, it wouldn’t surprise Lydia at all if Peter managed it. He had already used her to resurrect himself, anything was possible. 

Malia stayed steady at Lydia’s elbow, watching the redhead carefully before mimicking her. “Do they really think that Peter is going to try to escape using a pair of shoes?” She asked, frowning.

Derek shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just procedure.” 

If Malia was Lydia’s self-appointed bodyguard, Derek had appointed _himself_ as their shadow. Or mercenary. Malia wasn’t entirely sure. She looked over her shoulder warily at her cousin. “It’s a stupid procedure. Peter is weaker than a day old kitten.”

Derek was silent for a moment, his eyes drilling forward down the hallway. “I thought so once, too.” 

“I think they’re more concerned about him trying to turn the heels of my shoes into weapons than any bizarre need to play Cinderella.” Lydia murmured gently. She clipped the visitor pass onto her shirt and walked over to the elevator. 

Derek positioned himself behind both girls as Malia moved to Lydia’s side, his eyes narrowing at each person who looked at them oddly. The visitor’s pass that he clipped to his own shirt reflected the low lights, and he took an odd joy in the way that the majority of the personnel would suddenly avert their eyes from his gaze. He focused on Lydia for a moment. “He can use anything as a weapon, but he prefers his own hands. Be glad he’s weakened and wrapped up securely.”

“And locked up with someone that could put him in another coma, if necessary.” Lydia agreed. “I’ve never underestimated Peter. Not in the time I’ve actually known him to be a threat, anyway.” It still stung that she had been kept in the dark for as long as she had, and she wished that she and Malia had anything else in common besides the way Scott and Stiles had just decided not to keep them informed. 

Derek nodded stiffly. “He was never someone to be underestimated.” He agreed softly.

Malia sighed in exasperation. “That’s great. No underestimating Peter. Can we move faster, so we can get out of here sooner?”

Lydia glanced away and fought the urge to roll her eyes at Malia’s remark. She felt the same way, but she had almost developed a Pavlovian response to how candid the other girl could be. She ignored the patients being herded past the three of them, pretending not to notice the things a few of the guys were saying about her and Malia. The elevator finally opened to let them in, but Lydia didn’t exhale the breath she’d been holding until the doors were closed and the elevator lurched upward. 

Derek was growling low in his throat by the time they left the hallway, and more than one patient had cringed, whimpering and wailing under his stare. He folded his arms as he stood at Lydia’s shoulder, well aware that both girls were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but deliberately positioning himself next to Lydia, reasoning that if anyone attacked them, they would likely go for Lydia first. He ignored Malia, though he wasn’t arguing with her impatience.

“Don’t let him deflect.” Lydia murmured, glancing at Malia. “He’ll change the subject a dozen times, if not more, just to try to confuse you and make you forget what you’re doing. He compliments people to try to make them think he’s not evil, but he is. It’s practically textbook behavior for a sociopath, and I wouldn’t put it past him to have actually studied what a sociopath does.” 

“He did.” Derek muttered.

Malia looked alarmed, her eyes widening at both Lydia’s and Derek’s words. She nodded once at Lydia. “Okay. I won’t let him get to me. Don’t worry.”

“Good.” Lydia reached over, gripping Malia’s hand. She wanted Allison there with her, truth be told, but Allison and Stiles were busy with their daughter. She wouldn’t let herself start thinking again about how convenient that was. She had spent the past four days working on convincing herself that she wasn’t paranoid and that she did still have control over some things. 

Malia clutched at Lydia’s hand tightly, watching the hallway as they moved toward Peter’s cell. She cleared her throat and drew a deep breath, only relaxing when Derek pressed his arm firmly against hers. The contact from family, from pack, was enough to ease her nerves.

Lydia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking of how much more relaxed she would be if she had a pair of ruby slippers. She snorted, even though it wasn’t funny, glancing at one of the guards blocking the cell door for Peter and his roommate. She couldn’t remember the man’s name and was pretty sure she didn’t want to know it. 

Derek sighed, pursing his lips at the guard waiting in front of the cell. “We’re here to speak with Peter. Family, and guest.” He gestured at himself and Malia before gesturing at Lydia.

The guard nodded. “You have fifteen minutes, but I’m not going further than thirty feet away and that door stays locked.” 

“Believe me, I wouldn’t dream of protesting.” Derek replied, sighing, and gestured the girls forward.

Lydia stepped past the guard, wrapping her arms around her waist as she looked through the glass, at Peter. She realized her posture was defensive, but it was too late to take it back. Instead, she tilted her head and stared the werewolf down, daring him to laugh at her. 

Peter wasn’t in any position to even form his lips into a smile, let alone laugh. He was under the influence of so many drugs that it was difficult to lift his head, but he at least managed to roll his head to the side, resting it against the wall. His amusement shone in his eyes, if not out loud, and seemed completely at ease with the fact that they were seeing him so low, uncaring that he was bound up like Houdini and looking like a wild man. “My, my. What a pleasant surprise. The most ravishing Lydia Martin, coming to see me? What could I have possibly done to deserve such a pleasure?” He crooned at her, ignoring Derek and Malia outright.

Malia let out a low snarl, her lips curling as she moved to block Lydia from Peter’s gaze, only stopping when Derek hooked his arm around hers and dragged her back.

“You’re going to tell me about the last true Alpha.” Lydia said calmly. “Everything you know, from start to finish. And you’ve got about fourteen minutes to do it.” 

Peter looked surprised. “Am I?” He asked, acting as though Lydia’s demand was out of the realm of any possibility. “Did you assume I was going to start singing like a canary, or that I’d beg you to drag the truth out of me?”

“You don’t know anything.” Lydia smiled coldly. “This was a waste of time. Goodbye.” She took a few steps back and turned toward the hallway. 

“He really can’t tell you anything.” Another male voice called out. 

Lydia turned back around, her eyes searching the room for the source of the voice. “What makes you so sure?” 

“I took it all away from him.” The other patient laughed. “It’s the second time I did that to him, not that he remembers the first one. I take what I think is important, things they don’t need to know.” 

Lydia’s mind raced. “You put Deaton into a coma.” 

“Yes, I did.” The man stood up and took a bow. “And I’m guessing you’d be the one that got him out of it.” 

Derek frowned deeply, staring at the other man. “Who are you? What did you take from Peter? There’s information that only he knew that we need. Now.”

Peter sighed. “You’re so demanding, nephew. You won’t get anything you want out of him like that. No, he likes to be up close and personal.” He threw a resentful look at the man. “He likes to dig inside, dig, dig, dig, and pry you open until all of your secrets spill.”

Malia blinked slowly at Peter. “... I remember you being a little more charming and a little less insane than this.”

Peter turned his eyes to Malia, his head tilting. “Oh, I’ve always been insane, sweetheart. Ask your guard dog. Does Derek think he’s doing you any favors by putting his body in front of yours? Always the martyr, my favorite nephew. Always the one throwing himself on the grenade. He thinks if he saves enough people, it’ll make up for the twelve he lost because of his stupidity, because half a decade later, it could make _such a difference_ , right, Der-bear?”

Derek grit his teeth and gamely tried to ignore Peter, though his shoulders tensed up in obvious reaction to Peter’s taunts. He stared at the man with the bandage around his head. “Tell us what you know.” He paused, then added, “Please.”

Peter scoffed. “ _Please_ , he says. _Please_.” He pitched his voice, making it high and whiny. 

Malia snarled, darting in front of Derek to rush at the cage. “Shut. Up.” She growled, her voice distorting in her anger. “We were here to speak with you for information that it turns out you don’t have. He does, so you mean less than nothing to us right now. Keep your trap _shut_ and stop wasting our time.”

There was silence, and then the struggled beginning of a genuine smile appeared on Peter’s face, his eyes softening. “You _are_ a Hale, aren't you? Through and through. Just like my sister and your cousins.” He paused. “I could have been a good father to you, Malia.” He murmured.

“Yeah?” Malia snapped, stared hard at him for a long moment, and then deliberately turned her back on Peter, sidling against Derek when he put his hand on her shoulder. “We’re _never_ going to know.”

Lydia’s smile became more genuine when she realized that ignoring Peter would be the thing that got under his skin and made him a wreck for weeks. She kept her focus on the other patient. Even though Derek had already asked, she repeated, “Who are you?” 

“Doctor Valack.” The man smiled proudly. “They keep me here because I can see into a person’s soul and it scares them.” He reached up to tug the bandage away from his head, but frowned when Lydia backed away and averted her gaze. “Oh, yes. Forgive me.” He murmured. “You’re here for information, not to observe the circus exhibit. Well, the problem with that is... I’d like something in return.” 

Lydia looked up, frowning. “How do I know you’re not just screwing with us?” 

Instead of answering directly, Valack smiled as he looked at Derek, then back at Lydia. “Does it strike you as odd that so many of your friends are representations of the cartoon characters you admired as a child, little Ariel? The fox that thinks he’s Robin Hood, perhaps? Why is it that you chose not to bring him? Was he too busy with Maid Marian?” 

Lydia inhaled sharply. “What do you want?” She knew he was talking about Stiles and Allison, but she didn’t want to let him go on, feeling certain that he would reveal things to Malia and Derek that she didn’t want spoken out loud. 

“A glimpse of something that you don’t want me to see.” He grinned at her. “And not the same sort of something that my roommate here would be asking you for, I’m sure.” 

Derek reached forward, gripping Lydia’s arm. “Don’t trust him.” He said quietly. “We can find answers some other way.”

Malia practically vibrated in place right next to them, her fingers clenching together.

“You could, yes.” Valack agreed. “But it would take you much longer and you won’t have time at all to prepare yourselves for what’s coming. Peter has given me a great wealth of information, but he doesn’t have firsthand experience with anything that Anna Hale orchestrated.” 

“And you do?” Lydia scoffed. “That was a hundred years ago.” 

“Just hold your palms up and press them against the glass.” Valack continued, nodding. “That’s all I want from you, to see the lines.” 

Lydia ignored the instincts telling her to turn and run. She did what the patient asked, closing her eyes in case he decided to try to force her into a comatose state, like he had with Deaton. 

_“Clever girl.”_

Lydia could hear the words in her head, as clearly as if he had whispered in her ear, but she refused to move or let herself shudder at the disgust and fear she felt. She could hear a low murmuring from a few different voices, but it started to get louder, each word becoming a scream. She saw five homes, built poorly like someone had been in a hurry. A couple of the homes were on fire and people - teenagers - were running and screaming, falling and not getting up. She could see the man in front of her, looking a little younger and giving commands when he could, helping people retreat when he couldn’t. She staggered backward, rubbing her hands together like she couldn’t wait to wash them. Her mouth opened and she breathed in and out a few times, too overwhelmed to speak. 

“Do not make our mistakes.” Valack cautioned her, then looked up at the Hales. “Don’t fight in wars you cannot win.” 

Derek dragged Lydia back and away from the cell, tugging her behind him. He did the same with Malia, looking down at the girls for a moment, before he looked at Valack. “Thank you for your assistance.” He said tightly. “We’ll be leaving now.”

“Wait!” Lydia blurted, wide-eyed as she looked back at the glass doors. “You said you’ve done this to Peter twice. What was the first time? How did you do it?” 

“His sister asked me to take care of a situation that Peter was being difficult about.” Valack grinned at Malia, waving at her. “And I did it just the same as any other time I’ve done it, since I’ve been locked up in here. Eichen House wasn’t built to help ordinary people, it was meant to keep the Hales looking like model citizens while their adversaries were out of the way.” 

Malia pushed Derek out of the way, scowling. “Why was he being difficult about it? Why did she want me hidden? I deserve answers! I deserve to know why!” She smacked her fists against the glass.

“He knew your mother was pregnant with you.” Valack murmured. He dragged a chair closer to the glass and sat down. “He went to your aunt to tell her, and she was disgusted. Your mother _was_ a hunter, after all. When Peter insisted that he was going to make the rest of the Hales regret not listening to him, Talia had him brought here to me. The last thing she wanted was another situation like what had happened with Anna.” 

Malia grit her teeth, growling. “What situation? Who was my mother?”

Derek frowned deeply. “Around when was this? What year? Peter was acting oddly for a while, really secretive when I was really little, but no one ever found out why, and he never told us.” He lifted his eyes to look at his uncle with a frown.

“Oh, your mother knew.” Valack grinned. “Little Vickie Trask. Not so little when she began to sneak away from her husband to see Peter. At least she could be certain of that girl’s parentage. The other one, she was a little uncertain about, but she was willing to ignore her husband altogether. She was in love with Peter and wanted to throw away her crown to be with him, but Talia put a stop to that.” 

“Vickie?” Came Peter’s voice, which had been silent up until that moment. Now, there was a flair of recognition in it, of sadness and nostalgia. “What - my Vickie? What do you know of her?” He was beginning to get riled up, trying to sit up and fighting against the straitjacket he was wrapped in. “What do you know?!”

Valack giggled as he looked at Peter. “Why don’t you kids run along now? I have to fix this.” He got up from his chair and turned his back to the glass, pulling the gauze wrapping off of his forehead. 

Derek looked alarmed and grabbed Lydia around the waist, pushing her toward Malia before shoving the girls down the hallway. “Go. Go!” He didn’t make it far enough away before he heard Peter’s scream.

Malia paled at the sound, clutching Lydia’s hand in one of hers while the other gripped Derek’s bicep. She drew a deep, shaky breath, huddling against them both.

Lydia shuddered, closing her eyes and lifting two hands to cover her ears as she ducked her head. It wasn’t until a moment later that she even realized that only one of the hands was her own, the other was Malia’s. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. After a couple more, she stood up straight and shook her head a little, a determined expression on her face. “We need to find out who Vickie Trask is, obviously. Maybe Melissa can take a look at the old medical records from the year before you were born.” She glanced at Malia. “Are you all right with all of this?” 

Malia, still pale, still shaking, looked up at Lydia with wide eyes. She cleared her throat after a moment and forced herself to give the redhead an unaffected gaze, rolling her shoulders back and straightening her spine. “Yeah. I’m okay with it. I have to be, don’t I?” She pressed her lips together. “Let’s find my mom.”

Lydia smiled at Malia’s bravery. She hugged her. “We’ll start looking for her right away.” She glanced at Derek. “What about you? Are you okay?” 

Derek rubbed at his eyes with a sigh. “Define ‘okay’, give it to me in the appropriate sentence, and then I’ll think about it before I let you know.” He mumbled, sounding exhausted.

“It’s a colloquialism.” Lydia replied without hesitation, fighting back a smile. “I refuse to define it for you, Derek. If you’re not aware of the word by now, I recommend picking up a course or two on linguistics.” 

Derek debated with himself for a moment, then reached out and flipped Lydia’s hair up and over her face before snorting and jogging to the elevator.

Lydia stuck her lower lip out and blew her hair away from her face like the mermaid she had once wanted to be, then walked toward the elevator, a little disappointed that she didn’t have her shoes on. There was something satisfying, sometimes, about the steady clicking of her heels against the floor. 

Malia followed them slowly, frowning as her eyes darted from Derek’s back to Lydia’s. She shook her head. “I don’t understand anything that just happened.” She muttered, and her nostrils flared a little, trying to take in the strawberry scent that wafted from Lydia as comfort, and looking alarmed when she realized it was beginning to fade.

Lydia glanced over her shoulder at Malia and grinned. “I promise to explain things to you at some point.” 

“You had better.” Malia nodded, narrowing her eyes at the other girl and attempting to give her a small smile.

“You know, I don’t think I ever asked you what your scent is.” Lydia murmured, stopping by the elevator and turning toward Malia. 

Malia turned to gaze at Lydia curiously, looking surprised. “I don’t know. I can’t smell my own scent. Or I at least can’t tell what the smells are. I just know it smells like me.”

Lydia frowned. “Well, maybe Scott or someone can tell you.” She glanced at Derek before turning back to his cousin. “You should know.” 

Malia shrugged. “I never had anyone to tell me before.” She said simply, and glanced at Derek as well.

Derek sighed. “Gee, I wonder why you could possibly looking at me.” He muttered in a low monotone, before he made a demonstration of inhaling deeply in his cousin’s direction. He tilted his head. “Floral scents. You smell like jasmine. Something spicy. Sandalwood?” He paused, leaning closer, and sniffed again. “There’s another flower scent. Almost… rosy, but lemony at the same time.”

“Magnolias.” Lydia grinned. She got into the elevator, holding a hand over the door to keep it open. 

Derek nodded. “Magnolias, yes.”

Malia’s face fell a bit. “Oh. Well, that’s okay. I guess.” She scowled faintly, crossing her arms across her chest as she slipped into the elevator behind Lydia. This time, though, she kept a bit of distance between herself and the redhead.

Derek frowned at his cousin for a moment before he got into the elevator with them, not saying a word.

Lydia turned toward Malia, studying her. “You’re avoiding me now because our scents don’t match, aren’t you?” 

“Yes.” Malia replied bluntly. “But not just for that reason.” She glanced at Lydia. “Yours is different. The strawberry smell… it’s different. Changing. Disappearing.”

Lydia’s tentative, playful smile faded. “Disappearing?” She repeated. 

“The strawberry scent is, yes.” Malia nodded. “It’s being replaced, and I can’t tell by what yet. It’s still too new.”

Lydia took a few steps back of her own, then practically fled the elevator when the doors opened. She rushed to the counter and got her box back, practically slamming the visitor pass on the counter as she stepped back into her shoes. 

Derek gave Malia a disapproving look, frowning down at her.

“What?” Malia asked, looking confused. “What did I say?”

Derek sighed, rolling his eyes, and made his way out of the elevator after Lydia. “What’s got you freaking out?” He asked her, snatching his own things but not putting them back on. Instead, he nearly caged Lydia against the counter in an attempt to see her face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Lydia looked up at Derek. “Banshees can’t predict their own death. If I’m just fading out of existence right now, it’s not like I would know. I just want to - to go home.” She sighed shakily. 

“She didn’t say you were fading. She said you were changing. There’s a significant difference there, Lydia.” Derek told her, his eyebrows furrowing deeply. “She didn’t say it in the best way she possibly could have, but the way you took it definitely wasn’t what she meant.”

“It isn’t,” Malia confirmed, coming up behind the two of them and grimacing. “I didn’t mean to scare you, or whatever it was I did. I can smell the fact that your scent is changing, for fuck’s sake, I’d be able to at least tell you if you were dying, Lydia.”

Lydia took a deep breath. “Why is it changing? Is that normal? Did Valack do something to me?” Remembering how it felt when she realized that Peter had been toying with her mind, she reached behind her and gripped the counter’s edge. 

“He didn’t do anything to you.” Derek said firmly, and glanced at Malia as if for verification.

Malia leaned in toward Lydia and took a deep sniff, shaking her head. “He didn’t do anything to you, not physically, and you didn’t stare at his creepy brain-eye so he didn’t do anything to you mentally. I think you’re just…” She glanced at Derek, then looked back at Lydia. “Evolving.”

Lydia looked startled. “Me?” She blurted. “I’m evolving? Into what, exactly?” She had seen Jackson change form right in front of her, just from a few simple words. She hadn’t been there when Derek shifted into a full wolf form, but she had seen him a couple of times. And Scott had become a true Alpha all on his own. Everything she could find on banshees, which was admittedly not much at all, had been repetitive. A banshee was a wailing _woman_ , so she never thought of herself as anything more than human.

Derek smirked faintly at her, but it wasn’t in malevolence. “More. You’re becoming more.” He shrugged.

“There’s nothing more for me to become.” Lydia murmured. She glanced down at Derek’s arms on either side of her, then looked up at him pointedly. 

Derek pulled away from her slowly, his arms dropping to his sides as he raised one challenging eyebrow at her. “Maybe not supernaturally. But humans still evolve and change every single day.” He stepped away from her and pulled his things back on, slipping his feet back into his shoes before he started out of the building.

Lydia tried to ignore her growing irritation with the world as she turned toward Malia. “Do I need to drive you somewhere?” 

Malia looked at her for a moment, and then shrugged. “Home - the loft, I guess. Or the Sheriff’s house? Or… somewhere. I don’t really have any set place to go.” Her gaze turned wary. “You don’t have to take me anywhere if you don’t want to.”

“Where do you usually go?” Lydia frowned. “And why are you just now telling me this? I have a feeling nobody else knows that you’re sort of drifting from house to house.” 

“I still sort of have a place with my dad, but he’s been… He doesn’t know how to deal with me.” Malia frowned. “So Derek extended an invitation for me to stay at the loft whenever I wanted to. And sometimes Stiles lets me stay at his house, but I think that’s not going to happen anymore, now that he has Allison and a kid.” She glanced at Lydia. “And no one knows because I haven’t said anything to them. I’ve got my cousin looking out for me, so I’m good. Derek even gives me his room when I stay over.”

“You need a real home.” Lydia protested. “You can stay with me for the night and we’ll figure out something for you later. Maybe my mom will let you move in, but that’s a long shot.” 

Malia blinked, looking lost. “Derek has a real home.” She frowned.

“Right, but ‘stay whenever you want to,’ is not the same as him saying ‘move in with me, we’re family.’” Lydia explained patiently. “And since we’re discussing things, that little display in the hallway upstairs is called flirting.” 

“He could. I can ask him. He’s alone in that entire building, I’m sure he’d let me.” Malia looked uncertain. “He was flirting, or you were flirting? Because you didn’t exactly look like you wanted to move.”

“I didn’t look like I wanted to move, when? By the counter?” Lydia smiled and got into her car. 

Malia nodded, following her inside. “Derek was practically pressed up against you, and you weren’t pushing him away.”

“Okay, I liked it a little.” Lydia admitted. “I haven’t been completely celibate since my last ex-boyfriend was murdered, but it’s been months. I’m not desperate enough for male attention that I’d encourage Peter, but Derek isn’t Peter.” 

Malia grimaced. “Ew. No. He definitely is not.” Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “So does that mean that you’d encourage Derek?”

“If he didn’t hate me, I might.” Lydia glanced at Malia. “But he only views me as a necessary addition to the pack, and even then, barely tolerates me. I know I’ve been rude lately, which is probably due to my previously stated lack of sex.” She went back to staring out through the windshield. “And also due to fear, which we’ll both pretend now that I didn’t mention at all.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with fear.” Malia told her. “Fear kept me going when I was a puppy and trying to hide from those stupid mountain lions and cougars in the woods that were trying to eat me.” She shrugged a shoulder, looking out of the passenger side window. “Anyway, it didn’t smell like he hates you. I think the idea of you might piss him off, but that definitely wasn’t hate I was scenting.”

“Oh, is that all, then?” Lydia snorted. “I’m not interested in being with someone who doesn’t like me. I had nothing but time to think about this over the past few days, and one of my first boyfriends and I did nothing but fight all the time. I was looking forward to seeing him again, but I know now that it would only be a waste of time for both of us, to try to get back together. I don’t mind being single, I just feel that it’s not necessary to behave like a nun.” 

“I don’t see any particular reason to.” Malia agreed. “I still don’t think Derek hates you, but whatever you’d like to believe, I guess. At the very least, you should find someone to scratch your itches, though.”

“Yeah.” Lydia murmured. She knew a few guys at school that would probably trip over themselves to get her into bed with them, but she was trying to be more selective than she had been with Aiden, considering how things had turned out between them. 

Malia put her hand on Lydia’s shoulder. “Just - be careful. If it comes down to it, I can play bloodhound.”

“And I appreciate that.” Lydia nodded, smiling. She let her mind wander, thinking about who she could actually see herself asking to ‘scratch her itch,’ as Malia had put it, although she definitely wouldn’t use that phrase. 

Malia nudged Lydia firmly then. “But we’re still going to find out who my mom is first, right?”

“Yes.” Lydia murmured. She called Allison and put the phone on speaker. “Hey, we could use some help with research.” She glanced over at Malia. “For a few different things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated and feedback is welcome!


	13. Figure My Heart Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison stared at Lydia for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, that actually makes sense. Sort of.” She looked amused. “Would you actually sleep with him, Lydia?”
> 
> “It’s December.” Lydia stared blankly at Allison. “I haven’t had sex since June. Yes, I’d sleep with him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes from Heart Out by The 1975

_December 17, 2012_

Allison knew she shouldn’t feel so reluctant to go meet her other friends, after the probably-ridiculous amount of time that she’d been spending with Stiles and Chloe, but she knew she couldn’t stay wrapped up in the idea of ‘happy family’ at seventeen for so long. She had other obligations. All the same, when Lydia called, she agreed to meet up, then hung up the phone and dragged herself up and out of Stiles’ arms. “I’ll be back, okay?” She told him, leaning in to brush a kiss over his chin. “Maybe you can come over later with Chloe?”

Stiles nodded. “I’ll let you have a couple of hours to talk shit about me.” He teased. “And then I’ll come over.” 

Allison grinned, rubbing her hand gently over his chest. “I’m going to tell them _everything_ , including the way you kick me in your sleep, and drag your pillow out from under my head, and wiggle around the entire night until I roll on top of you.” She laughed.

“I got Scott to the point today where we were talking about the weird way you eat your cereal.” Stiles stared up at Allison. “And then he mentioned that thing you do when you read.” 

“Slurping the milk off of the spoon before I actually eat the cereal is perfectly normal.” Allison replied haughtily, then scrunched her nose up in confusion. “What thing I do when I read?”

“You emote.” Stiles explained. “When you’re reading something that pisses you off, you look like you’re going to stab the book.” 

Allison snorted. “That would be because if I read something stupid, it’s entirely likely I _will_ stab the book.” She agreed. “I want my books to be awesome, not stupid and nonsensical.” She stood up and put her arms around Stiles’ neck, standing between his legs. “Do you want me to pick anything up?”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded, his expression deadpan. “Run by a lingerie store.” 

Allison grinned slowly, her eyes darkening, and despite herself, she climbed back onto the bed, straddling his lap. “Done and done. I could pick out something in red. See-through. Something barely there?”

Stiles groaned. “No. Just take off your clothes right now.” He pouted at her. “Why do you have to leave?” 

Allison giggled quietly, ducking her head down to kiss his jaw, her teeth digging into his skin gently. “Because our friends asked for my help.” She nibbled lightly at his throat, taking his hand and dragging it to her hip. “And if I take off all of my clothes right now, I won’t be leaving this bed for another two hours. I’m pretty sure they want me at Lydia’s a little sooner than that.”

“Two hours?” Stiles blinked. “That’s a pessimistic attitude, Allison.” He laughed. “Okay, you go. I’ll go to the store and get you something for later. You know I can’t get the idea out of my head now.” 

Allison looked pleased, grinning at him. “Yay. And I know.” She leaned in to kiss him. “I might get you a little surprise for later, too.” She told him as she climbed off of his lap.

“I have the best girlfriend.” Stiles smiled. “I’ll see you soon.” He got up from the bed and pulled his jeans on, going across the hall to check on Chloe, who had been taking a nap. 

Allison smiled after him, then got dressed properly, making her way down the steps and out of Stiles’ house. Chewing on her lower lip as she climbed into her car, she drove straight past the road she should have taken to get to Lydia’s house and headed for the Ambiance lingerie store in town. She had promised to get something especially for Stiles, after all, and it felt classier than going all the way into Redding to get to Spencer’s, nevermind that it was nothing more than a glorified porn store with a classier name. She parked in front of the building and went inside.

The clerk pushed a lock of bleached-blonde hair behind her ear and smiled at Allison. “Hi. We’re having a sale. Everything is twenty percent off.” She went back to changing prices on the tags. 

Allison blinked, but smiled in appreciation. “Thanks.” She murmured, and wandered into one of the aisles, flipping through the seasonal racks with a faint grin on her face.

After a few more minutes, the blonde walked over and glanced at Allison. “I’m only here for seasonal work and I don’t really like this place, so if you want, I can take another thirty percent off of everything. They can’t do more than fire me.” 

Allison looked stunned, clutching a mesh-and-fur Santa-style babydoll outfit in her hands. “Really? I don’t want to end up taking advantage of you or anything, and - I mean, maybe you really don’t care, but I don’t want you to get fired. It’s almost Christmas.”

“Really? Because like I said, I don’t really care. My name’s Astrid.” The blonde grinned. “And I know this is forward of me and you’re probably buying this stuff for someone else to look at anyway, but I think it’ll look great on you and I don’t mind dropping the price that much, if you want me to.” 

Allison blushed. “I don’t… I mean, that would be awesome. Yes, please.” She smiled at the blonde. “Thank you, Astrid. My boyfriend is going to love this.” She giggled quietly, holding it against herself and looking down at it.

Astrid smiled as she rang up Allison’s purchases. She bit down on her lip as she put everything into a bag and held it out to her. “Have a good night.” 

Allison beamed at the girl. “You, too! Thank you again.” She headed for the door, waving at Astrid. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas.” Astrid repeated, nodding. She gave Allison a less-than-subtle once over and grinned back at her, then turned away to straighten a display of necklaces. 

Allison’s face reddened, and she blushed, ducking out of the doorway and back to her car. She drove back toward Lydia’s house, parked the car in the driveway and hurried out, clutching the bag and racing through the front door and up the stairs to Lydia’s bedroom. “I’m not entirely positive, but I’m actually really pretty sure that the girl at the lingerie store was interested in me!” She blurted out in one breath.

Lydia looked up at Allison. “Are you leaving Stiles for her?” She asked idly, already knowing the answer.

“Pfft.” Allison snorted. “Never. But look, she gave me discounts!” She squealed, and yanked open the bag, waving it at Lydia.

Lydia got up and grabbed the bag from Allison, smiling as she started getting the lingerie out of it to see what her friend had bought. “All kinds of Santa stuff.” She shoved it back into the bag. “If you two were Jewish, would he make you wear candle wax?” 

Allison lightly smacked Lydia’s arm, smirking at the other girl. “He might enjoy star shaped pasties, but the candle wax thing is a whole other can of worms. I told him I’d get something in red, and Astrid told me she didn’t care about her job before giving me a fifty percent discount.”

Malia crawled off of the bed and poked her head inside the bag, staring in surprise at the sheer mesh outfit she pulled out. “... How exactly do you ‘wear’ this?” She asked, looking up at Allison.

Lydia giggled. “It won’t matter how she puts it on, Stiles is just going to take it off of her, anyway. I might go to the store, too. Not that I have anyone in mind to wear anything for, but I’m still considering a few guys.” 

Allison sat down beside Malia, setting the bag on the floor. “Oh, yeah? Like who?” She asked, tilting her head to the side and squinting at Lydia.

“I don’t know.” Lydia shrugged. “A few different guys at school have been eyeing me lately.” She glanced at Malia, wondering if she should say anything about Derek. 

Malia narrowed her eyes at Lydia. “But what about-” She fell silent abruptly, clearing her throat.

Allison raised her eyebrows. “What about what? Or who?”

“Derek.” Lydia murmured. “He was actually being somewhat flirtatious today. All I can figure is that he’s as sexually frustrated as I am.” She paused. “Or, considering the source, much more so.” 

Allison stared at Lydia for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, that actually makes sense. Sort of.” She looked amused. “Would you actually sleep with him, Lydia?”

“It’s December.” Lydia stared blankly at Allison. “I haven’t had sex since June. Yes, I’d sleep with him.” 

“But she won’t because she thinks he hates her.” Malia piped up, looking between them. 

Allison made a face. “Well, that wouldn’t be a shock, actually. I think part of him still hates me for what my mom tried to do to Scott.” She sighed.

“I asked him if he was okay after we paid Peter a visit, and he said he’d answer that question if I defined ‘okay,’ and I teased him a little about it.” Lydia explained. “That resulted in him messing with my hair and running off like we were twelve.” She could almost still feel the warmth of Derek’s arms on either side of her. “He practically pinned me to the front desk, after that.” She looked pensive. “Maybe I should just go over there.” 

Both of Allison’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Um. Well, it definitely sounds like he was, maybe, definitely hitting on you a little? At the very least, it’s like he was acting like a kid on a playground, pulling on your pigtails. Maybe you would be in the right to go over there, but maybe he doesn’t know what he’s doing exactly. I mean, his past relationships haven’t exactly been… stellar. You know?”

Lydia nodded, grimacing. “No, you’re right. And the pigtail thing was exactly how I thought of it, too.” She admitted. “I guess one of the guys on the swim team is about to get very lucky.” 

“Gross.” Malia muttered. “They smell like fish and algae and chlorine. Don’t do it, you’ll never get the scent off of you.”

Lydia scowled at Malia, but she wasn’t really that angry. “Thank you for ruining that for me. I guess I’ll just have to go buy new batteries.” She groaned and flopped backward on her bed. “This is beyond ridiculous. Never mind, we have research to do. That’s why I called you over here.” She sat up and looked at Allison. “Peter was no help, but apparently the guy in a containment cell with him took his memories from him. Valack, or Doctor Valack, if you feel like being respectful of the title. I don’t. He claims he was around at the time of the last true Alpha. The thing is, I believe him. He showed me a memory of a fight to the death that a lot of Anna Hale’s pack lost. Anyway, it led to trying to figure out who Malia’s mother is, and Valack says the woman’s name is Vickie Trask. We were going to look through every old record we can find.” 

Allison froze, looking up slowly. “What?”

Malia glanced at Allison. “My mother’s name. Peter actually reacted to it, so it must be real. It was Vickie Trask.”

“Yeah, apparently Peter was in love with this woman and she was all set to leave her husband and daughter behind to be with him, but Talia objected enough that she wiped Peter’s memory.” 

Allison swallowed. “That’s… He’s lying. He - That’s a lie.” She said quietly, shaking her head.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Lydia frowned. She sat up straight. “Oh.” She looked from Allison to Malia and back. “I can see it, now that I know what to look for.” 

Malia frowned, looking between the other two girls. “What are you talking about? What can you see?” She gave Allison a hurt look. “Why is it a lie?”

Allison didn’t look up at either girl, swallowing again thickly. “Because Trask was my mom’s maiden name.” She paused, then looked up at Malia again. “Victoria was her first name. It’s my mother. My mother is - if he’s telling the truth - oh god.” She looked like she was going to be sick.

“Oh.” Malia mumbled.

“We’ll get Melissa to administer a DNA test.” Lydia murmured. “But I think it’s going to be positive.” 

Allison widened her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears she could feel trying to fall. “I… Yeah.” She said softly. She cleared her throat. “We can… We can satisfy my dad’s paranoia about Chloe at the same time, I guess.” Her face paled. “I can’t - oh, god.”

Lydia got up and hugged Allison. “I know this is a tough time right now, but you’re gaining more family if either result proves to be positive.” She pointed out. “We’ll keep looking into it.” She gave the bag of Allison’s purchases a contemplative look. “Okay, I’m going shopping. I’m sorry that this was just dumped on you both, but I had no idea it would turn out like this and I’ve become unable to process any thoughts that aren’t about having sex.” She grimaced. “I’ll just go figure out... something.” She hugged Malia. “I’ll be back later tonight. This really shouldn’t take long.” 

Malia hugged Lydia back, still blinking in confusion. “Okay.” She looked around. “I’m…. going to go to sleep.” She nodded. “I think sleep would be good right now.” She stood up, giving Allison a hesitant touch on the shoulder before she left the room.

Allison looked up at Lydia pleadingly, then looked after Malia as she walked away. “I need Stiles. Lydia, can you call him for me, please? I just need him to come pick me up. I can leave my car here tonight, right?”

Lydia nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine.” She was already calling Stiles. 

“Yo.” Stiles answered, studying a pair of black lace underwear in front of him as he tried to ignore the way the manager was yelling at the clerk behind the counter. 

“Allison is upset and wants you to come get her from my house.” Lydia took the phone away from her mouth. “Allison, can I tell him why, or do you want to?” 

Allison nodded shakily. “I don’t want to have to explain it again.” She said softly.

Lydia nodded back at her best friend as she held the phone up to her ear again. “Derek, Malia and I went to talk to Peter today. The shortest explanation is that Malia’s mother is Allison’s mother. Supposedly. I won’t be here when you get here, but I’ll come by later. Or tomorrow. I don’t know yet.” 

“I’ll be right there.” Stiles hung up and sprinted out to the Jeep, driving over to Lydia’s house in record time. 

Allison had walked out to the front porch by the time Lydia had hung up with Stiles, and was sitting on the steps waiting for him, her bag dangling sadly from her fingers. She looked up at the screech of the Jeep’s tires and jumped up, running to Stiles.

Stiles had his door open and was twisted sideways in the seat, reaching for Allison. “What happened?” He wrapped his arms around her. “I mean, I know what happened. I’m wishing this town wasn’t so small. You wanna go home, baby?” 

Allison sputtered out a noise that was half a laugh and half a sob, nodding. “Please? Please take me home.” She huddled against him, burying her face in his neck and bravely trying not to burst into tears.

Stiles rubbed Allison’s back, leaning back and pulling her into the Jeep as he moved. “Come on.” He laughed a little. “Just climb over me and we’ll go.” 

Allison whined a little but threw her bag into the floorboard well of the passenger seat before climbing over Stiles’ lap. She promptly slid down and dropped her head onto his thigh, clutching at his knee tightly.

Stiles ran his fingers through Allison’s hair. “Or we’ll sit here awhile, because as much as I’m liking this right now, I don’t want to get pulled over while you’re not sitting up, and that’s how my luck tends to run.” 

Allison let out a soft snort, but grabbed Stiles’ hand in hers, twining their fingers together before pressing a kiss to the inside center of his palm. “Thank you.” She murmured and sat up, buckling herself in.

Stiles watched Allison for a long moment. “You know that I’m here for you. Whatever you need. Seriously.” It wasn’t what he really wanted to say, but he felt like it was just too early. 

“I know.” Allison whispered, smiling weakly at him. “I know you are. I know you always will be.” She fell silent, still clinging to his hand, then said, “Take me home and distract me?”

Stiles nodded and drove away. 

**

Lydia had already made up her mind to do this, before she even left her house. She had gone straight to the store Allison had just visited, changing in the bathroom stall after she paid for what she wanted and carrying her other outfit out in her oversized purse. She didn’t let herself rethink any of it, just drove over to Derek’s apartment building and took the elevator right up to his floor. It was too cold for this plan of hers, but she figured if things went well, she wouldn’t be cold for very long, anyway. 

Derek glanced toward his door in bemusement when he heard the elevator gears kick in, but ignored it, figuring it was just one of the pack making their way up to crash for the night.

Lydia let herself in, pushing the door shut behind her as she stared at Derek. Instead of saying anything, she unzipped her coat and shrugged out of it, her gaze still locked on him as she stood in her pink underwear and heels. 

Derek looked up slowly, his gaze first drawn by the sight of Lydia’s dainty feet before slowly trailing up her legs to the rest of her body. He inhaled sharply. “Jesus.”

“Lydia.” She corrected, smirking. “Are you going to come over here to me, or do I have to do all the work myself?” 

Derek stared for a moment longer, his gaze lingering on Lydia’s body and face before he swung his legs off of the couch and set his book down, standing up in one fluid movement as he made his way over to her. “What are you doing?” He asked quietly, his eyes darting around her face, down and up again, and his eyes flashing in hunger.

“I’m not stupid, Derek. I’ve never been stupid.” Lydia murmured, tilting her head back a little as she looked up at him. “I’m not asking for anything serious right now. I know it’s been a while for me, and from what I can tell, it’s been even longer for you. Let’s just fix that.” 

“I never said you were stupid.” A low growl emanated from Derek’s chest. He took a step closer to Lydia, and then another, and within seconds, he was pressed against her, his arm reaching down to scoop her up into his arms. He wrapped her legs around his waist, then made for the spiral staircase, nearly leaping straight up to the next floor and his bedroom in his hurry. “Take it off.” He murmured, his hand sliding over the center of her back and her belly before sliding up her spine.

Lydia smiled and pulled her camisole off, over her head. She slid her thumbs into the waistband of her underwear, but didn’t take them off as she stared at Derek. “Your turn.” 

Derek smirked at her and set her down, yanking his shirt off in one go. “Fair?”

Lydia nodded, eyeing Derek’s chest before she tugged her underwear down her thighs. She bent at the waist, stepping out of her shoes and pushing the lacy fabric past her ankles and toes before she tossed it aside. She stood up straight as she met his gaze. 

Derek’s fingers moved to the waistband of his jeans, flicking open the button and tugging down the zipper easily. He raised an eyebrow at Lydia as the material caught on the jut of his hips before he pushed them down forcefully. Grinning crookedly at her, he murmured, “Leave the heels on.”

Lydia grinned back proudly. “I like you.” She remarked. “This is going to be fun.” 

Derek strode forward, lifting her again and carrying her to his bed, ignoring the dig of her heels into his backside. He lowered her onto the mattress, climbing above her, and pressed a thumb against the swell of her breast before he shifted up to stroke her nipple. "Understatement." He growled and dove down, his lips wrapping around her.

Lydia tangled a hand in Derek's hair as her back arched upward, eyes closing for a few seconds as she reveled in the way it felt to have him touching her. Everything she had prepared herself to say about skipping foreplay because she found it boring was no longer necessary. 

Derek suckled at her nipple lazily but forcefully, his fingers tracing abstract shapes over her hips and thighs before he carefully pressed his fingers inside of her. Lifting his head to catch the pulse of her throat between his teeth and biting down lightly, he stroked inside of her slowly, pushing one of her legs up and over his hip with his other hand. "It _has_ been a while for you, hasn't it?" He murmured.

“Six months.” Lydia admitted, looking up at him. “When’s the last time you had sex?”

Derek’s eyes darkened. “I’d rather not talk about that. Let’s just say, it’s been significantly longer.”

Lydia was tempted to guess a name, just to see if she was right in her assumption, but she decided it would be better for both of them if she just nodded, instead. “Well, I’m here now.” 

“You’re right.” Derek murmured. “You are.” He bent his head again to kiss her, his lips teasing hers open before he slipped his tongue inside.

Lydia put her hands on Derek’s back, dragging her nails down as she kissed him. She lifted her hips, angling them as she thrust down to remind Derek that other parts of her still needed attention.

Derek let out a low chuckle, pressing his chest to hers. “Lift your legs. High as they can go.” He told her quietly, his fingernails skating down her belly, over her hips and across her thighs.

Lydia smiled smugly and brought her legs up to her chest, moving so that her knees were resting on Derek’s shoulders. 

“That’s it.” Derek hummed, and shifted his hips down, teasing Lydia gently. His hands slid up her legs to grip her ankles tightly as he slid inside of her with a low grunt. He began to shift, thrusting inside of her lazily.

Lydia looked up at Derek, turning her head to kiss his neck. She tightened her grip on his back again, whimpering when he slid deeper inside her. 

Derek growled softly, and ran his fingers over her again, pulling back to look her in the eye as his own eyes flashed at her. His fingers touched the raised edge of skin at her belly, and he barely glanced down, though his thumb stroked soothingly over it before he kissed her again, thrusting sharply inside of her once more.

Lydia cried out, letting go of Derek’s back with one hand as she lifted her head from his pillow, gripping her hair and tugging it away from her neck. She was already feeling hot and the long strands were clinging to her and pulling with every thrust of Derek’s hips. 

Derek’s hands moved quickly, sweeping up Lydia’s back and the nape of her neck, tugging her hair away and pulling it to the top of her head. He bent his head down, reattaching his lips to hers as he moved, grinding against her as he cupped the back of her head and drew her against him.

“Thank you.” Lydia murmured when she pulled back for a moment. It hadn’t escaped her attention that Derek was the only person living in the building, but it was only now occurring to her that she could be loud if she wanted to, if _he_ wanted her to, and nobody would complain. 

A small smile quirked to life on his lips. “Anytime.” He murmured.

Lydia grinned up at Derek and lifted her head to kiss him again. She liked knowing she was responsible for the look on his face. She was surprising herself with how important Derek had become to her. Even just a few days before, she had been focused on Scott and the possibility of him liking her and wanting to date her, but the truth was that she had seen Derek looking at her for a while, she had just chosen to ignore it because he had a permanent scowl on his face and it had given her the impression that he hated her. 

Derek kissed her with a renewed vigor, huffing deep, warm breaths against Lydia’s mouth as he moved. He still wasn’t entirely sure where his surge of attraction to Lydia had come from - but he wasn’t blind. She was incredibly beautiful, smart and strong, and - he groaned softly - wicked. He’d watched her for what felt like ages before, even when he’d been snapping at her and she’d held her own against him, and he could feel himself being drawn closer and closer to her, circling her like a moth to a flame. It had made him want to fight it, since any of his past attempts at anything resembling normal had crumbled the minute he’d touched it, but this… this was just sex. He’d never had a problem with just sex. He couldn’t ruin anything and everything in his life when it was just sex.

Lydia felt her orgasm building and she moaned, wriggling under Derek impatiently. “Just...” She stammered. “So close, Derek.” 

“Shh.” Derek murmured, smirking faintly. “I’ll get you there, I promise.” And he promptly slid out of her, straightening up on his knees.

Lydia’s eyebrow raised as she stared up at Derek. “That’s really not how this works. Has it been that long?” She smiled. 

Derek snorted and pushed her back, laying her flat against the mattress before pushing her legs toward her chest. “Quiet, now.” He murmured, and slid between her legs, her thighs bracketing his shoulders as he lowered his head to lick a single stripe up the center of her.

Lydia clenched the sheet in one hand and brought the other up to Derek’s hair again, biting her lip. She liked to catalogue things she knew about people, and was a little surprised that Derek wasn’t a fan of loud, rough sex. She could only come to the conclusion that she didn’t even know him at all, the way she thought she did. 

Derek hummed against her, pressing into her touch, and twisted his tongue inside of her before dragging the flat of it up and over her clit. Wrapping his lips around it, he let out a low growl and sucked firmly.

Lydia’s hips jerked up when Derek growled, and she put a hand over her face and laughed a little. “Well, that was unexpected.” She murmured. “When you’re done with me, I’ll take care of you.” 

Derek hid his face against her thigh for a moment and laughed quietly. “Noted.” He murmured, and buried his face against her once more, eating her out.

Lydia’s teeth sank into her lip as she came again, sighing happily as she looked at Derek. 

Derek licked her clean again and finally pulled back, raising his eyes to hers with a slow smile. He shifted back up the bed and dropped down next to her, his arm over his head and a lazy smile on his face.

Lydia smiled back at him and sat up to kiss Derek as she got up on her knees. She rubbed his chest, moving her hand lower after a moment. 

Derek stretched against her, his chest rumbling softly as he kissed her back. His own hand slid up her arm and over her shoulder to her hair, threading his fingers through the strands and holding her head against his. His hips shifted up in encouragement.

Lydia’s hand encircled Derek’s erection and she stroked him a few times, pulling back from the kiss and moving further down the bed to take him into her mouth. 

Groaning, Derek pressed his head back against the pillow, his hands moving to Lydia’s head and resting there gently, arching his hips. “Fuck,” he muttered quietly.

Lydia hummed, dragging her mouth and left hand up and down his length as she used the nails of her right hand to trail over his thigh, barely applying any pressure at all. 

Derek inhaled deeply, drawing one leg up and planting his foot firmly down against the mattress. “You feel amazing.” He murmured, tilting his head as he watched her with hooded eyes.

Lydia grinned and kept going, alternating between moving faster and slower to draw everything out a little longer. 

The growl made a reappearance, Derek completely unable to fight against the sound now, and it grew louder the farther Lydia went and the closer he got.

Lydia sank down again, taking Derek all the way into her mouth as she bit down lightly. 

“Lyd-” Derek choked out. The biting was what pushed him over the edge, and Derek rolled his hips, letting out a groan as he came.

Lydia made a pleased sound as she swallowed, wiping at the corners of her mouth with her fingertips as she pulled away and sat up. 

“Fuck.” Derek muttered again, stretched out and settling comfortably against the mattress. His eyes roved over Lydia’s face, and he tugged at her, encouraging her to straddle his abdomen as one thumb stroked over the joint of her hip.

Lydia smiled as she moved, resting a knee on either side of Derek’s hips as she looked down at him. “Are you a cuddler?” She laughed. “Everything I thought I knew about you was wrong, and that’s a little annoying.” 

“So sorry that I ruined your expectations of me.” Derek replied dryly, his eyes lit in amusement. The hand on her hip moved to her stomach, his fingers playfully circling her belly button.

“Hmm, I’m not sorry at all.” Lydia murmured. “This was good.” She wasn’t going to ask for a repeat performance, she had already decided that if he wanted one, he could figure out how to let her know. If she wasn’t concerned about how he might react, she would be getting up from the bed and getting dressed already, but she didn’t want him to think she had just been using him. She was pretty sure he had enough of that in his lifetime. 

Derek smiled back at her. “It was.” He agreed quietly, and folded both arms behind his head. “Are you tired? Thirsty, maybe?” He asked. He wasn’t going to outright ask her to stay, but if she was tired, he definitely wasn’t going to kick her out. Not now. Definitely not now.

“I’m okay.” Lydia smiled. “Actually, I probably do need to go take care of a couple of things, but I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m... well, by now, I think everyone in the pack knows most of what you’ve been through with people and I don’t want you thinking this is another experience like that.” 

Derek raised his eyebrows in amusement. “I _am_ aware of what this was, Lydia.” He told her kindly. “I’m not holding you to anything you don’t want to be held to.” His eyes glinted wickedly. “Unless it’s the mattress. Or the wall.”

Lydia laughed. “Oh, I don’t think I’d mind being held to either of those.” She remarked. “I don’t really have any expectations. It’s not like you’ll go make up lies about me in a locker room tomorrow.” 

“I don’t lie. I omit.” Derek murmured, raising his eyebrows at her. “You never have to fear me making things up about you.”

Lydia nodded. “I didn’t think so, anyway.” She thought for a minute, then put her hands on his chest and leaned down to kiss him before she got up, taking off her shoes and putting her underwear back on. She picked up her camisole and put that on, as well. 

Derek stretched out, smiling faintly as he watched her dress. “What made you decide to come over, anyway?” He asked, eyeing her up and down.

“The way you were treating me earlier today.” Lydia admitted, running her fingers through her hair to make sure it wasn’t full of tangles. “You protected me and listened to me, which a lot of other guys seem to have trouble finding a balance for. And having you close didn’t bother me at all, either.” 

“Yeah?” Derek looked thoughtful. “I wasn’t about to let anything happen to you. Not while you were with me and I could have done something.” He said quietly.

“For the good of the pack, I’m guessing.” Lydia murmured. She knew she was pretty much begging him to correct her, and that was enough to make her slip her shoes back on. Whatever his response was, she had let herself reveal too much, emotionally, and didn’t want to stay any longer. 

Derek watched her dress, staying silent for a long moment, a frown clouding his brows. “... Yeah. I guess.” He agreed eventually, and finally stood up, moving to slip into a pair of low-slung sweatpants. He gazed at her warily.

Lydia looked up at Derek. “I guess I should tell you what else happened today.” Even though she was in her underwear and heels, she felt more in control, having information that Derek didn’t and being able to keep him informed. 

Derek stared at her for a moment longer, then gestured. “I can make some coffee. We’ll go downstairs and you can tell me.” He murmured, and led her toward the staircase.

Lydia walked downstairs, heels clicking across the floor as she walked over to her coat and picked it up. She didn’t put it on, not really caring about modesty when he had seen her naked already and had sex with her. She just didn’t like leaving things laying around. She set her coat on the back of a chair and sat down on it. “We learned who Vickie Trask is, but we’re going to have to verify the information through a DNA test.” 

“Why do I feel like this isn’t going to be a pleasant revelation?” Derek asked, moving toward the kitchen and setting up the coffee maker. He leaned against the counter, looking at her. “Who is she?”

“You feel that way because we’ve never had good news when it’s a surprise like this.” Lydia pointed out. “And this time, it’s especially bad because it turns out that Peter was in love with Victoria Argent. Trask was her maiden name.” 

Derek’s jaw dropped slightly, and he stared at Lydia in disbelief, before snorting. “Of fucking course. Because naturally, he’d lord the fact that he would _never_ have a relationship with a hunter over me, when it turns out…” He trailed off, the rest of the revelation catching up to him. “Jesus. So Malia’s mother...”

Lydia nodded. “Allison is distraught, but Stiles is taking care of her. Malia just said she was fine and wanted to go to sleep early.” She bit her lip, feeling guilty that she had abandoned her friends. The reasons didn’t matter, no matter how she had felt before. 

“I’d probably be upset in Allison’s position, too.” Derek muttered and shook his head. “Malia is sure she’s alright? Did she give off any vibes to the contrary?”

“She always says whatever it is that she’s thinking, but she didn’t say anything about any of this. I think she’s still processing it and might have been more hopeful that Allison would accept her. I’ll talk to her when I go home.” 

The timer went off in the kitchen, and Derek walked away for a moment, then walked back with two cups of coffee, one in each hand. He handed a cup to Lydia and took a sip of his. “Make sure she knows that I’m here for her if she needs me. She always has a place to stay with me. I want her to feel safe, and I’m not so sure I trust her adoptive dad.”

“You’re not the only one.” Lydia grimaced, thinking about how terrified she had been when she stepped on one of the traps that had been hidden in the Preserve. She sipped her own coffee and set the cup down. “I probably ought to bring that up, too. Since I’m here. Malia needs an actual home. She doesn’t like staying at that house and she’s just sort of been bouncing from place to place, apparently? I didn’t think it was good for Isaac and I don’t think it’s good for her.” She frowned, hating that she was about to potentially ruin the good evening they had been having. “You need to give her a place of her own. Even just another apartment in this building would be good enough. She needs to live like a teenage girl and she can’t right now. She needs posters on the wall and the chance to paint her room whatever color she wants.” 

Derek straightened. “What? What do you mean she’s been bouncing from place to place? I offered her a place to stay months ago and she turned me down!” He paused. “Or, well, she said that she had a place?” He sighed, dropping his head against his arm. “I think she misunderstood me.”

“She did.” Lydia murmured. “She told me that you said she could come over whenever. I told her that wasn’t a real invitation to live with you. From my perspective, it hadn’t been. I’m sorry.” She picked up her cup and took another drink from it. “Are any of the other apartments finished?” 

“Just two.” Derek mumbled, watching her before he mimicked her. “They’re closer to the ground floor. Level Two and Three.”

“Could she have one?” Lydia smiled faintly. “I don’t think either one of you would enjoy having to share space, you’re both too used to being on your own. It could end badly.” 

Derek gave her an amused look. “You’re probably right. I can already see the territorial snarling. And Cora isn’t even here to cause it.” He stared down at his coffee mug for a moment, then took a final drink before setting it down with a clunk. “She can have her own space, but I think I’m going to start working on one of the apartments that’s on the floor below mine. That way, she’s got her own apartment, but she’ll be as close to me as she wants.” He rubbed his forehead. “And if she doesn’t want the closer apartment, then… maybe I can keep it empty and ready if my sister ever comes back.”

“If you need any help, let me know.” Lydia smiled playfully. “Or tell one of the guys. Scott needs a new hobby.” She took another drink from her coffee cup and sat back, looking up at Derek. “I’m going to convince everyone in need of a DNA test to go take care of it tomorrow and get it out of the way. I’m actually a little surprised that they didn’t - oh, damn it.” She set her cup down and stood up. “All right. I’m just going to have to admit it. I’m getting worried. Nothing has tried to attack us in months. Allison got to town within days of Kira moving away, and too many other anomalies are occurring to really make them anomalies in the first place. I certainly never thought that you and I would have had sex, for instance. My scent is changing because I’m evolving? Why now? I’m telling you, something is coming for us. Not death. I know that much, at least. I just think that timing has become too convenient and I don’t understand how nobody else is seeing what I see. Stiles and Allison should have taken Chloe to the hospital for a test days ago, but they didn’t, and now Allison will have to be subjected to two different tests.” 

Derek grimaced. “I’m going to say something that I never thought I’d say in regards to Chris Argent - he’s right. So are you. I know why Stiles and Allison didn’t believe it needed to be done, but it should have. I don’t think his reasoning for it is unreasonable at all - the things he’s lived through, dealt with his entire life, he’d know if something was going off-script. If he’s directing that toward Chloe, there’s a reason for it. She seems nice and normal but - I know Scott told everyone that she smells like Stiles and Allison, but it might have been…” He trailed off and sighed, sitting down next to Lydia and looking at her. “Every person has their own scent. It isn’t just a rub-off from the people around you, it’s inherent - your own, signature smell that goes right to the very core of you. It’s how Malia’s been able to understand who’s suited to each other and who isn’t. Some people share a base scent, but all-in-all, everyone smells different.” He raised his eyes. “Chloe has _no_ scent whatsoever. No base, no tops, nothing. The only thing on her is Stiles and Allison’s mingled smells.” He folded his arms across his stomach, looking up at the ceiling. “I think - I _know_ you’re right. Something’s coming. And with the revelations surrounding Chloe and Allison, and now Malia’s mother… I think they’re at the center of it. Whatever it is, I think it’s coming for them.”

“They can stay at the lake house.” Lydia frowned. “We’ll ward it. Everything we can find, and we’ll give Allison...” She paused and shook her head. “It won’t be enough, will it? If I’m not feeling like death is coming for them, then whatever this is, it’s beyond me.” 

“We’ll figure it out.” Derek said quietly. He gestured between them. “Including… this. Whatever is happening between us, what’s happening to you, what’s going on with… We’ll make sense of it.”

Lydia nodded. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a negative thing.” She murmured. “But then, you and I seem to both have bad luck with relationships.” 

“That… is a ridiculous understatement.” Derek snorted, but casually dropped an arm around her shoulders. _He_ felt ridiculous. He’d been inching closer and closer to her with each word they spoke until he could wrap his arm around her. He wanted to touch her, frequently, in many different places and ways as he possibly could, but he didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. He just couldn’t resist himself, and he knew himself well enough to realize that this was out of the norm for him, that something indeed was going on - unless this was regular attraction at work, and he just couldn’t tell the difference anymore. Jennifer’s - _no, the darach’s_ , he corrected himself immediately - her ministrations had made it difficult for him to understand properly what was real, and what was a spell. He sighed.

Lydia put her head down on Derek’s shoulder. “Maybe we should tell everyone. Not as a big announcement, just a sort of ‘hey, if either of us happen to become evil, this is a potential warning sign,’ I guess.” 

Derek grunted, turning his face to nuzzle against her hair, breathing deeply. “Let’s come up with a plan B, just in case.” He replied, and stroked his thumb over her bare shoulder.

“Okay.” Lydia murmured. She lifted her head to kiss Derek, surprising herself when she didn’t even realize what was happening until she pulled away. She tilted her head and started playing with her hair as she looked at him. “If one or both of us start exhibiting unusual behavior, you could be stopped with mountain ash and I suppose I could... have someone sedate me. Or lock me in a room somewhere? I don’t _think_ I’d suddenly gain more strength, but I also never expected Stiles to be able to do half of the things he did when he was possessed.” 

Derek grumbled softly, craning his head around so that he was looking at her properly. “I’m not sure sedation would work quite like that, not that well, at least, but we’ll work something out. Maybe handcuffs.” He said the words with a low growl in his voice, and pressed a careful kiss to the space between her neck and her jaw, worrying at the skin lightly with his teeth a moment later.

Lydia smiled and turned toward Derek as she moved to straddle him on the chair he was sitting in. She put her hands on his shoulders. “I think we should let everyone else worry about it, if it becomes something to worry about, and just try to enjoy ourselves.” 

Derek’s hands immediately moved to her hips, sliding under the edge of her camisole. “I think that’s a fantastic idea.” He replied and dragged her closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow Stiles and Allison on tumblr! 
> 
> http://adderallandconverse.tumblr.com  
> http://deadlysilver.tumblr.com
> 
> Or you can ask some of the pack members questions
> 
> Allison - http://ask.fm/crossbowsandsilver  
> Stiles - http://ask.fm/adderallandconverse  
> Lydia - http://ask.fm/ofpythagorasandprada
> 
> If there's something you want to see in this series, leave us a comment! We can't promise everything, but we'll try our best to work things in.


	14. Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’ve both dated psychos.” Stiles blurted. “We get it. The whole town gets it. Seriously, I heard an old woman at the grocery store talking about Jackson being an asshole once.” He grinned. “But, you know, if you like each other... I mean, you do like each other. It’s obvious. Nobody’s expecting you to buy a farm and raise dalmatians, just go on a few dates and see what happens next. But you’re not allowed to fly to Paris and say awkward things to each other, because that’s just for me and Allison. Get your own cute story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is full of porn and pop culture references. It contains spoilers for episode 4x21 of _Angel the Series_ , courtesy of a conversation between Stiles, Allison, Derek and Lydia. There are also spoilers for _Phantom of the Opera_.

_December 18, 2012_

Stiles rubbed his eyes and took a long drink from the bottle of soda he had brought with him, shaking his head and smiling in disbelief at the way Chloe was animatedly talking to Allison, despite the early hour. It was a little after six, but he wanted to do this and try to focus on school work for the rest of the day. He knew Chloe was their daughter, nothing could convince him otherwise. 

Allison looked up on the tail end of a giggle to look at Stiles, and her entire face softened. She reached for him with one hand, her other still playfully trailing through Chloe’s hair. There was still a sadness and wariness around her that she couldn’t seem to shake, and exhaustion was obvious in the bags under her eyes, but there was a determination in them as well: to prove that her father was wrong and that Chloe was theirs, and to show that there was no possible way she could be brought down by the news that her mother - that Vickie Trask - had once considered leaving her husband and one-year-old daughter for Peter Hale.

Stiles grinned back at Allison and leaned toward her for a kiss. “No matter what, I’m here for you.” He whispered. “Malia’s supposed to be here, but if we don’t see her, I’m going to drive her nuts by texting her every two seconds. I’ve done it to other people before, I’ve got no problem doing it to her.” 

Allison kissed him back, looking amused. “I probably shouldn’t enjoy the idea of you harassing someone else via text message as much as I do.” She told him. “But I do. And you might have to, because I honestly don’t know if she’s going to show up.” She sighed and leaned against his shoulder.

Stiles got his phone out of his pocket and sent Malia a text. ‘Where are you?’ He leaned forward to look at Chloe. “Are you hungry?” 

Chloe nodded. “Can I have a Pop Tart?” 

Allison grimaced. “I can get you a fruit bar that isn’t covered in sugar.” She offered, and then blinked, looking at Stiles in confusion. “Why did I say that? Oh my god.”

Stiles grinned. “Because two days ago, we gave her a candy bar for breakfast and my dad threatened to ground me when I got home?” 

Allison shuddered. “Your dad totally just made me Mom our kid.” She chastised him, poking his side.

“That’s kind of the point though, right?” Stiles felt like he was getting a little better at parenting. He had solved his problem with helping Chloe take a bath by letting her wear a swimsuit. It made for more laundry, but he could handle laundry. There was still a part of him that was uncertain that she was their daughter, but he didn’t want to say that out loud. 

“Well, yeah, but it just feels weird.” Allison admitted, sighing. Looking down at Stiles’ phone, and then back up toward the doors, she pointed. “There’s Malia.” She said quietly. “And shouldn’t they have called us in already, for god’s sake?”

“Stuff like this always takes forever. They’re probably going to make us pee in cups, too. I don’t even know why, but I think they like that.” Stiles snorted. He waved Malia over and glanced at the clock on his cell phone. 

Malia tentatively picked her way across the waiting room floor toward them, starting to sit down across from Allison before she hesitated and sat next to Stiles instead. “Hi.” She mumbled, clearing her throat.

Allison looked down awkwardly. “Hey.”

Stiles sighed and opened his backpack, wanting to check over his homework while he had time. He rolled his eyes when the door opened, just as he was about to review his answers. “It figures.” He muttered, putting the paper back into his folder. “Go ahead, I’ll be a minute.” 

Allison stood up, and leaned down to kiss Stiles firmly. “I’ll see you in a minute, then.” She told him, then took Chloe’s hand and headed for the door. She paused, looking over her shoulder at Malia, then waved the girl forward. “Come on.”

Malia stood and rushed after her.

Stiles smiled as he zipped his backpack shut and followed them into the room. The thought of needing to have his blood drawn made him sick, but he was prepared to do it. Chris had mentioned alternatives, and Stiles had already known they existed, but this felt like it was too important to take an easy way out. 

Allison stooped down and picked Chloe up, holding the girl in her arms for a moment as she hugged her. “Okay. So… the doctor isn’t here to hurt you, or us, okay? He just needs to do a test, and… it’s going to feel like a little sting, but it won’t hurt for long, I promise. He’ll even give you some candy after, okay?”

“Okay.” Chloe murmured, squeezing her eyes shut. 

Allison pressed a kiss to her forehead and inhaled deeply before she gently set Chloe on top of the exam table, then lightly brushed her hair away from her eyes with a smile. She sat down beside the girl, and looked up as the doctor entered the room.

“Hello! I’m Doctor Lacey Decima. I assume this is Chloe?” The red-haired woman smiled down at the little girl, her eyes sparkling. 

Chloe grinned up at the doctor. “Uh huh. Can I have candy after this?” 

Stiles laughed and ducked his head. 

Allison blushed. “Sorry. I might have promised her that she’d get some.”

The doctor laughed. “It’s quite alright. I find that promises like that go a long way to keeping the natural order as straight and narrow as possible. Now then. It looks like you’re all here for a DNA test?” She glanced between Stiles and Allison, and then again between Allison and Malia. “For… maternity and paternity in regards to Chloe, and then for the maternity line in regards to Allison and Malia, correct?”

Stiles sighed and nodded. “Yeah, it’s been a rough month.” He murmured. “We really just want this over with.” 

Decima gave them a sympathetic look. “I understand. I’m going to make it as painless as possible, but we’re going to use two methods, just to be absolutely sure. Since Chloe’s still so young, the blood test and a Buccal swab should narrow the results down perfectly.” She set her clipboard down after notating several things in the margins of the paper, and then reached for a drawer, pulling it open and retrieving several wrapped needles and swabs. She opened another drawer and pulled out some small plastic baggies, setting them beside the swabs. Pulling on a pair of disposable gloves, she turned and smiled at them. “Now. Who would like to go first?”

“I’ll do it.” Chloe smiled. “But I better get a lot of candy for this.” She pouted at Allison.

Stiles laughed and kissed Chloe’s forehead. “You can close your eyes and maybe sing your favorite song or something, and it’ll be over before you know it.” 

Allison laughed quietly. “And I promise you’ll get your candy after, sweetie.” She held one of Chloe’s hands, squeezing it gently.

Decima turned to Chloe with the swab. “Okay, Chloe. Open your mouth.” She approached the exam table and held the swab out. “Keep your tongue down, alright?”

Chloe nodded and stuck her tongue out, closing her eyes. She kicked her feet a few times, then stopped and tried to hold still. 

Decima ran the swab along the inside of Chloe’s cheek, then pulled it back and dropped it into one of the baggies before sealing it. She picked up one of the needles and screwed it onto the syringe before unwrapping it. “Okay, Allison, Stiles, if you want to go ahead and hold Chloe’s hands, please do.” She approached the table again. “Chloe, this is going to feel like a little pinch, okay?” She took a cotton swab and doused it with rubbing alcohol, cleaning a spot on Chloe’s arm before she lowered the needle and pressed it in as gently as possible.

Chloe winced and started crying, leaning against Stiles and Allison. “That hurted.” Her lower lip trembled and she wiped her eyes. 

Allison hugged her close, resting her head on top of Chloe’s. “I know it did, sweetie, I’m so sorry.” She murmured.

Malia watched avidly, her eyes focusing on Chloe and Allison’s interactions with something like despondence on her face.

Decima carefully withdrew the needle and unscrewed it from the syringe before storing the vial and disposing of the needle properly. She came back a second later with a Hello Kitty band-aid and a big bucket of candy. Cleaning off the tiny pucker that had been left behind from the needle, the doctor gently placed a piece of gauze over it, and then held it in place with the band-aid. “You were very brave, Chloe.” She told the girl, and handed over the bucket of candy. “I usually only let my patients take one piece, but you were so special and so brave, I’m going to let you pick out three. Okay?”

“I like three.” Chloe sniffled, smiling as she started digging through the candy to find what she wanted. 

Decima laughed gently, and pulled the bucket away when Chloe was done. “I’m glad.” She turned to the other three. “Okay. Same thing for the rest of you. We’re going to go ahead and do the swab first, for all three of you, and then I’ll withdraw blood. It won’t take long at all.”

Allison nodded, still holding Chloe loosely, and her hand wrapped gently around Stiles’ hand, giving him a gentle squeeze.

Malia jumped up. “Well, you can go ahead and get me first.”

Stiles turned toward Allison, speaking softly. “Can I go before you? I’m kind of freaked out about going last. Or at all. Needles and I just don’t get along. We never have.” 

Allison kissed him softly and nodded. “If you feel like you need to squeeze my hand, go for it. You can do it as hard as you can. I’m not going to break.”

“I know you won’t.” Stiles laughed a little. “I might. I have a tendency to pass out. I don’t even know how I’m holding it together right now.” 

“Because we have a tiny impressionable person sitting in between us that looks at you like you’re the be-all end-all of the universe.” Allison replied, looking faintly smug as she said it, then jerked her head to the right, looking at Malia. “Malia, no biting the doctor.”

Malia let out a low growl, watching Decima suspiciously as she held her arm out. “No promises.” She muttered.

**

Lydia smiled as she put her tray down on the table and sat down, barely paying attention to the food in front of her. She had done her best to focus in class, but she caught herself daydreaming more than once about Derek. 

Scott dropped down beside her, nudging her in the side lightly. His food tray was in front of him, but it didn’t stop him from reaching in front of Lydia to grab some of her fries. “Hey. Wake up.” He smiled faintly, and then lightly began poking her in the shoulder. “Wake up, wake up, wake up.”

Lydia giggled and smacked Scott’s hand. “Stop that. You really need to find something better to do with your time than aggravate me, McCall.” 

“But aggravating you is so fun.” Scott protested, leaning forward and dropping a loud, smacking kiss on Lydia’s cheek. “You get all red and flushed and huffy, it’s hilarious.”

Allison scoffed as she sat down across from them. “You get red and flushed and huffy whenever anyone mentions anything to you, Scott. Does that mean that we need to start constantly hassling you?” She teased.

Scott blinked, then hesitantly smiled at Allison before sticking his tongue out at her. “Yea- no. Shut up.”

“Aww.” Stiles sat down beside Allison and kissed her. “Look at you, breaking rules and coming here when you’re not supposed to.” He grinned. “Is Chloe at Derek’s?” 

Lydia glanced down at her tray, smiling again as she took a drink from her bottle of water. 

Allison nodded, grinning. “Cutest, awkwardest thing _ever_.” She said. “I took Chloe up, Derek opened the door and stared down at her and did his whole Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson impression - you know, eyebrow raised, folded arms, biceps everywhere - and Chloe marches right up to him, sticks both arms out and goes, ‘Airplane now, please.’” Allison leaned against Stiles, laughing. “Last I saw of them, Derek was ‘flying’ her around the loft.”

Stiles burst out laughing. “I wish I could have seen it.” 

“Me too.” Lydia murmured. She pressed her lips together and glanced away, feigning an interest in what was going on at other tables. 

Allison kicked her foot out, nudging Lydia’s foot curiously. “Hey. I know that face and it isn’t fooling me. Everyone who interests you is already at the same table as you.”

“Not everyone.” Lydia corrected. She couldn’t help smiling again. “Some people don’t go to this school.” 

“Oh?” Allison leaned forward, looking interested. “People like who?” She teased.

“Derek.” Lydia blushed faintly, laughing a little. “Last night was interesting.” She glanced around the table, curious about how everyone else was reacting and wondering how long it would take some of them to understand the full meaning of her words. 

Scott had stuffed half of his burger in his mouth and had been chewing almost obnoxiously. “Wha-?” He asked, his jaw falling open a little.

Allison took one look and groaned. “Scott, gross! Close your mouth.” She reached across the table, gripping Scott’s chin and pushing it up. She pulled back, looking at Lydia in surprise. “You and Derek? Like… You, and then Derek, or…” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “ _You and Derek_?”

Lydia had been sitting with the same people, in various combinations, since sophomore year. She prided herself on being well-mannered, most of the time. But she felt like ignoring her own lunch table rules, just this once. “Me and Derek.” She replied, using the same suggestive tone that Allison had used. “And then me. And then Derek.” 

Stiles had gone still and silent as soon as Lydia had mentioned Derek, prior to Allison’s demand for clarification. He stared across the table at Lydia, not blinking or doing anything more to indicate he was alive, other than breathing. 

Allison let out a low whistle. “Very nice.” She laughed, looking impressed. She leaned across the table. “And that was all last night?”

“Yeah.” Lydia nodded. “And the biggest reason I’m telling you this is because we’re both a little concerned about it.” She waved a hand in front of Stiles’ face and shook her head at him before looking back at Allison. “Neither one of us have a good track record with relationships, and we’re not certain that we’re ready to say we’re in one, at this point. It’s still early. But Malia told me yesterday that my scent was different and I just want to make sure that I don’t hurt him.” It wasn’t even a concern that he might hurt her somehow, she just knew that she was more of a threat than he was, when it came to the two of them.

Allison flicked Stiles’ nose, looking amused. “Sweetie, snap out of it.” She looked back at Lydia. “Well, did it feel like you were out of control?”

Scott leaned over and gave an ostentatious sniff, his head cocked to the side as he looked at Lydia. “You do smell different, but not bad different. You still smell good.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s just really...” Stiles blurted, stopping as he glanced at Allison. “Nevermind, I don’t want you to kill me.” 

“Malia says I’m evolving.” Lydia murmured, ignoring Stiles as she turned toward Scott. “Where is she, anyway?” 

Allison snorted, draping her arm around his shoulders. “No killing.” She promised.

Scott looked at Lydia with a small, crooked smile. “I haven’t seen her since first period, but I’m pretty sure she might have left. Either that, or she decided she was going to hide out for the rest of the day.”

“Oh.” Lydia frowned. “I sort of ditched her and Allison last night to go see Derek in the first place.” 

“It’s really freaking hot.” Stiles continued, staring at Allison. “You knew I was going to say it. I’m sorry, I’m not even interested in her anymore, you know that. I just... her? And him? What the hell?” 

Allison smiled indulgently at Stiles, shoving back her giggles as she petted his head affectionately. “I knew you were going to say it, I know you aren’t interested anymore, but it doesn’t mean you aren’t still attracted to her. And, I’m assuming, him.” She glanced back at Lydia, waving her off. “I didn’t take any offense to it, Lyds. I just wanted to be with Stiles yesterday, on account of trauma. Besides, I think Malia’s problem might be stemming more from me than from you.”

“And you’re just going to let him talk about me?” Lydia looked stunned, but she laughed. “I should probably be offended and go sit somewhere else.” 

Allison’s eyes twinkled, and she winked at Lydia. “Honestly, I just want to see how far he goes before he realizes he needs to backtrack.” She laughed, and kissed Stiles’ cheek. “Besides, I’m the one that gets to go home with him. He can be attracted to whoever he wants, as long as he remembers that.”

Stiles looked around, seeming confused. “I know it’s something I’m not supposed to say, but come on. Am I wrong about this?” 

Lydia grinned. “I don’t think you’re wrong. But I’m biased.” She started laughing. “Allison, your boyfriend is hopeless.” 

Allison cooed at Stiles, cupping his chin and turning his face to hers, giving him a soft, lingering kiss. “Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but he’s adorable either way, and I’m planning on monopolizing his time once he gets home later.”

Scott made a gagging noise from beside Lydia.

Stiles frowned at Scott. “Can you at least... no, you wouldn’t. Where the hell is Danny? He’d back me up on this. Well, halfway.” He put his head down on the table. “I hate you guys.” 

Scott and Allison laughed, and Allison stroked her fingers over Stiles’ cheek, curling up against him. “Come here, you.” She rested her head on the table next to his, sliding her arm around his middle.

Stiles scooted closer to Allison and kissed her. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, embarrassed. 

Allison smiled softly. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.” She told him warmly. “I wasn’t lying.” 

“Okay.” Stiles sat up and smiled at Allison. “You know, if Chloe’s at Derek’s and my dad’s at work, we could go to my house...”

Lydia rolled her eyes and threw a fry at Stiles. 

Allison’s eyes closed as she laughed, hiding her face in Stiles’ shoulder. “Does it make me a bad person if I say that I really, really want to?”

“Yes.” Scott nodded, reaching across the table and grabbing the fry that Lydia had thrown at Stiles in order to stuff it in his mouth.

Allison narrowed her eyes at Scott, grabbing some of the chips from Stiles’ lunch and throwing them at Scott’s face.

Stiles snorted at Scott, then got up from the table. “Yeah, no. You don’t get a vote, buddy. Bye.” He laughed and walked away. 

Allison shook her head. She glanced at Lydia. “Seriously, though. Are you really, really concerned about this thing with Derek? Does this hearken back to the whole… possibly being manipulated thing we were talking about?”

Lydia nodded. “Yes, it does. And he agrees with me about it. Everything is too convenient. It’s just... it’s not _right_.” She insisted. “You didn’t go get that DNA test, and you’ve had time. And then you had to go get two of them. Don’t you think that’s strange?” 

Allison folded one hand on top of the other and sighed. “Yeah, it is. Like the universe knew I didn’t want to, and then it forced my hand so I had to.”

“I don’t like feeling like I’m being paranoid.” Lydia frowned. “Last night was the first time I thought maybe if this is happening, it can’t be too terrible.” 

Scott cleared his throat quietly. “I’d like to say that I wasn’t acting like an ass on purpose, but I don’t think that’d be true, exactly.” He looked at the girls. “I do think that maybe something was… influencing it? Making it bigger than it was? I don’t know. It’s just weird.”

Lydia looked pensive. “Allison, go ahead and go. We’ll talk more about this later.” 

Allison leaned her hands on the table and stood up, smiling faintly as she waved to them both, before she trailed after Stiles.

Lydia glanced over at Scott. “Have you noticed anything else?” 

Scott frowned. “It was kind of hard controlling my shift when I first found out about them.” He said quietly. “But I don’t know how much of that was me losing control of myself, and how much of it was something else affecting me.”

“You think you and Stiles were fighting for a reason?” Lydia thought back to the argument and the way everyone around Scott and Stiles had reacted. “Have you spoken to Liam about it?” The beta werewolf had seemed uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. Malia’s only disappointment, on the other hand, was that the fight hadn’t turned physical.

Scott looked guilty and shook his head. “No… I probably should have, like, right after it happened, but I was just so relieved that we weren’t fighting anymore.” He sighed. “I’ll grab him after his English class and talk to him.”

“I’m not trying to start an argument with you.” Lydia murmured. “But I’ve never really been able to accept him as being anything other than someone who just sort of tags along behind you. I’ve tried, but I just haven’t been able to deal with anyone new since Allison left for Paris. And I don’t count Isaac or Derek as being new because they’ve been around.” 

Scott shook his head. “I’m responsible for him. I did this to him. I have to do my best to look out for him and take care of him, Lydia. I have to try and help him out, because god knows, I didn’t make it easy on Derek when he tried to help me.”

“What about him joining Satomi’s pack?” Lydia frowned and took a drink from her bottle of water. A bigger pack would benefit them, not hinder them, but she couldn’t help making the suggestion. “Yesterday, I saw what happens to a pack that doesn’t... that tries to be more than it should.” 

Scott frowned. “But we aren’t trying to… I don’t understand. What are you saying, Lydia?” He asked, narrowing his eyes.

“First of all, don’t look at me like that.” Lydia muttered. “The last true Alpha was Anna Hale, and she wanted to use societal traditions instead of just doing what her mother and father wanted. Her pack was like ours, mostly teenagers who just wanted things to be different. And she had to watch her mother slaughter nearly the entire pack. I don’t know why Valack thought it was so important that I see this, but something _is_ coming and if you can keep Liam safe by making him stay with Satomi, you should consider it. We’re not ready for whatever it is, but I don’t think he’ll have our backs.” 

Scott swallowed, and his face fell. “You really think he won’t back us up when the time comes?” He asked softly.

Lydia shook her head. “He’d have your back, I’m certain of that. But too many people at your back can be just as much of a problem as a comfort.” She didn’t want to point out the most obvious instance, Julius Caesar, but she had a feeling he understood, anyway. “I don’t think he was necessarily meant to be a werewolf, any more than I am. He’s still intimidated by us, still hero-worships you, and if we got attacked right now?” She gestured around her. “Where is he, Scott?” 

Scott sighed and looked down. “He’s still having some trouble maintaining control, even with the mantra. Derek and Stiles did their best to help him out, but something about it just isn’t… it’s not working.” He felt awful, and looked horribly guilty. “I’ll… I’ll talk to Liam. And then I’ll take him with me to talk to Satomi. Maybe I’ll bring Derek with me. If anything does happen, it’d be nice to talk to her and see if she’ll be willing to help us.”

Lydia nodded. She felt like screaming and twisted around in her seat, her eyes surveying the cafeteria for any potential threats, even as she spoke. “Scott, something’s wrong.” 

Scott was instantly alert, turning to stare steadily at her. “What is it?” He asked immediately, his ears perking.

“I don’t know...” Lydia’s gaze fell on a girl with bleached blonde hair and ripped jeans. She gripped the back of her chair. “I think... I’m looking at a reaper?” She hated being uncertain about anything. “I don’t understand.” 

Scott spun around, trying to follow her gaze. “What? Where?”

Lydia pointed, then realized how rude and obvious that was. She picked up her phone and pretended to take a picture of herself, snapping one of the girl and sending it to the rest of the pack, along with an explanation of her concern. “Go find Liam.” 

Scott nodded, grabbing Lydia’s hand and squeezing lightly. “Come find us later.” He ordered. “Keep in constant contact, okay? Text message every five to ten minutes.”

Lydia nodded, turning back to her lunch tray and picking it up. She did her best to act normal, throwing the rest of her lunch into the trash before she set the tray on the return cart. 

**

Stiles smiled nervously at Allison when they got to his house, and he felt too awkward to get out of the Jeep. “Hi.” He put his hand over his face, feeling like an idiot, but he hadn’t been sure of what else to say. 

Allison grabbed his hand and lowered it, smiling at him. “Hi.” She said back warmly, and leaned forward to kiss him lightly. “Come on. Let’s get out of the Jeep.”

“You’re really okay with me saying dumb things in front of our friends?” Stiles asked, frowning. “Because I don’t want to ruin things between us. I’d never want that.” 

“Stiles, you didn’t ruin things between us, and I really honestly don’t think any of what you said was dumb. Scott’s said worse. I’ve said worse.” She climbed out of the Jeep and closed the door, moving around to his side. “You’re allowed to be attracted to other people. I might shoot a crossbow bolt at you if you try to act on it, but you’re allowed to feel any way you want to, and you can express it to me. I’m never going to be the person that says ‘you can’t’, okay?”

Stiles stared at Allison, gulping when she threatened to shoot him. “Right.” He opened his door slowly, getting out and closing it behind him. “So... I mean, I’d never do that, anyway. The cheating thing.” 

Allison grimaced, looking apologetic. “I know. I know you wouldn’t, I just… opened my mouth and stuffed my leg in there.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I would never actually shoot you. I wouldn’t. But everything else… I mean it. I won’t be the person that tries to tell you that you can’t feel the way you feel. I care about you too much to try and dictate your life like that.” She took a step closer to him, extending her arms for a hug.

Stiles hugged Allison. “I didn’t think it was a big deal, but maybe it is. Maybe it’s the kind of thing you see as being a deal-breaker, and maybe I’m going to regret talking about it at all, but I want to go in the house first.” 

Allison nodded, clinging to him and sighing as she rested her head against his chest. “Inside the house is a good idea.”

Stiles waited until they were in his room before he spoke again. “All right, I like guys.” He took a deep breath, cringing a little and waiting for Allison to say something. 

“Okay.” Allison raised her eyebrows. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Um, no?” Stiles shook his head. “No. I don’t think so, anyway. I mean, I still like you, so it’s not like I’m having some big, gay epiphany or anything like that. I’ve kind of known for a while, since before you even moved out here the first time, but I just wasn’t sure how to say it. And if I can’t talk to you, then who exactly can I talk to, right?” 

Allison’s lips turned up at the corner as she smiled at Stiles. “You can talk to me about absolutely anything.” She confirmed. “And I’m not a judgy person. Or at least, I don’t think I am. My point is, I don’t think it’s bad that you like guys, too, and it’s not - I mean…” She frowned, a look of realization appearing on her face. “Oh. Is this what you meant when you said that it might be a deal breaker?” Her voice sounded hurt, and it was reflecting on her face. “Were you thinking I wasn’t going to be okay with it?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles murmured. “I tried telling my dad at one point last year, and he accused me of lying. I sort of was, but not about that. Not exactly.” 

Allison looked up at him. “I bet you anything your dad thought you were - _knew_ you were covering for something else, and assumed you were trying to hide it by giving him a cover. Maybe he might have listened, and wouldn’t have accused you of lying if he’d realized that you were serious.” She took his hands. “Your dad is a good guy, Stiles, even when he screws up. At least you know he loves you, whatever else he says to you. When exactly did you try telling him?”

Stiles snorted. “When he caught me and Scott at Jungle, the night we tracked Jackson there.” He laughed a little. “Okay, but you have to understand that my dad and I don’t always get along and sometimes I think he doesn’t... that he’d rather trade kids with Melissa, except she would refuse.” 

Allison looked almost wounded by the words, blinking at Stiles and looking stunned. “Your dad would never give you up. _Never_ , Stiles. He might get angry at you and argue with you, but he’s, like, one of the few parents I know that would dig their heels in and pull you back if someone tried to take you away. He wouldn’t just trade you. He wouldn’t do that.” She was shaking by the end, looking pale and speaking vehemently, like what she was saying was the absolute truth and that she was desperate to believe them herself, even if Stiles wouldn’t.

Stiles grinned, trying to lighten the conversation. “Do you have a crush on my dad?” 

Allison smacked his arm, scowling. “No, dummy. I’m in love with you, for some reason.” There was a beat, after she’d spoken, and then she blinked, looking stunned. “Um.”

“No, this is good.” Stiles murmured. “Because I’m in love with you, too. I wanted to tell you before, but then I wanted to wait until... well, that’s a surprise, and I’m not ruining that. I might go a little catatonic at the idea of attractive people having sex, but that’s partly because I want to. WIth you. When it’s the right time and we’re not in danger of someone walking in on us.” 

Allison gave him a small, crooked smile. “And when the newest Big Bad of the year is threatening to dance around on our heads?” She asked, and moved forward into Stiles’ arms, closing her eyes. “You love me?”

Stiles smiled. “Yeah, I love you.” He hugged her. 

Allison hugged him back tightly, letting out a laugh. “I love you, too.” She murmured, and lifted her head to kiss him sweetly.

Stiles kissed back, tightening his grip on Allison’s waist as he stepped back, sitting on his bed and pulling her onto his lap. 

Allison slid comfortably into his lap, straddling his thighs and draping her arms around his neck as she slid her tongue inside his mouth.

“Do you want...” Stiles started to ask, feeling nervous again. “We have time now.” He kissed her again, putting a hand on the back of her neck.

Allison closed her eyes. “We don’t have to go that far. If you don’t want to.” She murmured. “I want to. But I can wait. We don’t need to go any further than what we did the other day.”

“But I do want to.” Stiles glanced up at Allison. “Before you, I wanted to have sex with whoever would’ve offered, except nobody was offering. The fact that I love you and you love me makes it so much more amazing.”

Allison swallowed and smiled, leaning forward to press her forehead against his. “You’re right.” She said softly, and reached up to cup his face, kissing him softly. “I want this.” She said again, nodding.

Stiles grinned and kissed Allison again, pulling her back with him as he laid back on the bed, rolling over with her and moving his mouth to her neck. 

Allison clung to his shoulders, tilting her head back and arching gently against him. She shifted her legs apart, letting him settle between them.

Stiles started rutting against Allison, reaching between them to unfasten her jeans, then his own. He moved to kneel on the floor, working to undress her from the waist down. 

Allison panted softly, shifting and squirming to help him, her eyes locked on what he was doing. She sat up as much as she could and crossed her arms in front of her, grabbing the hem of her shirt in either hand and tugging it over her head before tossing the shirt on the floor.

“Beautiful.” Stiles smiled as he looked up at her, then stood to take his clothes off. He blushed a little when he was naked in front of her. “Um...” He made a face and sat beside her, leaning over to kiss her again. “Don’t laugh at me, even if you want to. Please.” 

Allison grabbed him, jerking him down against her, and then twisting until he was lying on his back with her resting above him. “I wouldn’t. Ever.” She told him firmly, and kissed him deeply. She pulled back a moment later, sitting up until she could look at him, and she shivered, her eyes trailing up and down his body. “You’re just… wow, Stiles.” She said softly, and then took a deep breath, squirming down until she could brush soft kisses over his chest and stomach.

Stiles fought the urge to tell her she didn’t have to do that for him, that he knew he wasn’t as muscular as Scott or Isaac and probably never would be, even if he started taking steroids. He ran his fingers through her hair, watching her intently. 

Allison looked up his chest at Stiles, catching his eye, and grinned sweetly before she squirmed down between his thighs. “I love you.” She told him, and pressed a soft kiss to the curve of his erection, her fingers reaching up to stroke his abdomen as she ducked her head down to take him into her mouth, sucking softly.

Stiles groaned, his fingers clenching in her hair before he realized what he was doing. “So good.” He murmured. “I love you.” 

Allison let out a soft moan, clenching her fingers against his skin as she went down on him, her tongue lashing playfully at the head of his dick. She set one shaking hand on his hip, pinning him down on one side as she took more of him inside of her mouth, hollowing out her cheeks as she bobbed her head up and down. 

Stiles reached for Allison’s other hand, entwining their fingers. “I’m close already.” He blurted. He was eager for everything, wanting to put his mouth on her and make her come, even though he was a little terrified that he’d just bore her. 

Allison squeezed his hand, then reached up with her other, pulling back from Stiles and stroking his dick quickly. “Do you want to come first?” She asked, looking up at him. “Or do you want to - be inside of me before you do?”

“Oh my god.” Stiles bit down on his lip and took a deep breath, trying not to come just from thinking about coming. “Inside you.” He nodded. “But you should probably let me do that now.” 

Allison let out a tiny giggle, but nodded and crawled back up his body, rolling onto her back and tugging him along with her. She took a deep breath and reached between them, her hand wrapping around Stiles’ erection before she angled it toward her, shifting her own hips up as she pressed the head of his cock inside of her. She let out a soft whimper, grabbing at his bicep with her free hand.

“You’re - that’s -” Stiles stammered, then decided to shut up and move, since he doubted Allison needed half-assed platitudes about what he felt like inside her. He gripped the front edge of his mattress, thrusting into Allison as he focused on breathing and not babbling like an amateur, even though Allison knew he was. He grimaced when he realized he was thinking too much and probably not moving enough. 

Allison threw her arms around him, letting out a moan and allowing her head to fall back as she arched up against him. She lifted her leg, wrapping it around the back of Stiles’ thigh, holding on tight as she rocked back against him. “Oh, my god.” She whimpered softly.

Stiles came a moment later, groaning in embarrassment and putting his head down on Allison’s shoulder, his hips still rocking forward as he did his best to make sure she wouldn’t be too disappointed. He lifted himself up a little and brought his mouth to one of her breasts, his tongue tracing over her nipple. 

Allison's body trembled and shivered under Stiles, and she let out soft, strangled cries as he moved and touched her. Her fingers raked through his hair as white hot heat shot from the place where they joined, to each and every limb of her body and she let out a soft sob, hugging him tightly against her as she came around him. Her head collapsed back on the pillow, and she dragged Stiles down against her with a soft whine.

Stiles smiled faintly as he kissed her, feeling a little regretful that it had ended so quickly, but he was eager for the day when that wouldn't be a problem anymore. 

Allison smiled into his lips as she kissed him back slowly and thoroughly. Her body felt like jelly and she was aware of the fact that she wasn't going to be able to get rid of her smile for days. "That was amazing." She slurred, burying her face in his neck.

“Really?” Stiles lifted himself up again to look down at her. “I mean, I liked it, but I’m - you know, anything I say after this is going to sound terrible, so I’m just going to kiss you again.” He made a face and followed through on his words, easing out of her carefully and moving onto his back to hold her close. 

Allison giggled as she kissed him back, her arm around his shoulder. " _You_ were amazing." She reiterated, curling up close to him and resting contentedly in his arms.

“I love you.” Stiles murmured, closing his eyes. 

Humming softly, Allison replied. "I love you, too." Her own eyes fluttered shut.

**

Lydia knocked on Derek’s door after school, fighting the urge to look behind her again. She knew nobody was back there, and that Astrid, the clerk that had given Allison the massive discount (but was somehow mysteriously gone by the time Lydia got to the store, less than two hours later?) hadn’t followed her. Lydia had watched as the girl got on a bus to go home, in fact. There was no real reason for her to feel unsettled, but she did. 

Derek opened his door, his eyes darkening the second he saw Lydia. His eyebrows raised. “Good timing. I just put Chloe down for her nap.” He stepped to the side and let her in.

“Oh.” Lydia smiled. “I came by... well, did you see my text?” She murmured, walking into the apartment. 

“I did.” He replied quietly. “Reapers aren’t a good sign in the best of times, but they usually only appear to people who are about to die, or people who’ve already seen death. Since you’re a banshee…” Derek sighed. “Was anyone else with you? Did anyone else see her?” He closed the door and followed her inside.

“Scott saw her, but I sent the picture to Allison and everyone else, and she said that the reaper isn’t a reaper, she was working in the lingerie store just yesterday. But there was barely two hours between when she went and when I did, and that girl wasn’t there anymore. I don’t think it even proves that she’s not a reaper. I do occasionally watch television. Reapers can have jobs.” 

Derek pulled out his phone and opened up Lydia’s text message again, studying it carefully. “She doesn’t really look like any reaper I’ve ever seen.” He admitted. “They’re usually really solemn, depressed looking. Things can change, I guess, but… She looks really cheerful. Almost… calculating?”

Lydia stared at Derek. “You’ve met reapers before?” She smiled and sat down on the couch. “When she walked into the cafeteria, I felt death. A lot of death. It was all I could do not to start screaming.” 

Derek took a seat next to her and reached out to cup her face. “Were they screams for the past, or screams for the future?” He asked gently. He didn’t answer her first question - of course he didn’t, he couldn’t bring himself to. His first initial experience with reapers hadn’t exactly been good ones.

Lydia shrugged one shoulder. “Both.” She shuddered. “She looks normal, but I felt every death in the room. In the building. The town. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” 

Derek frowned, and pulled her against him, hugging her against his chest. “I don’t - that sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard of before. I don’t have any answers for you.” He said softly.

“As long as she’s attending school, I’m not even sure I can go.” Lydia took a deep breath. “I don’t want to go home and have to be by myself right now.” 

Derek pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You can stay here as long as you like.” He murmured.

Lydia lifted her head and kissed Derek. “Thank you.” She put her head back down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “I feel ridiculous, running away from someone like this.” 

Derek wound his arms around her firmly, his fingers lightly stroking her sides. “This is coming from me, alright?” He said after a moment. “There’s nothing wrong with making a run for it, especially when you don’t know what exactly the threat is.”

“Yeah.” Lydia murmured. “Well, we’re going to have to find out what’s going on, eventually. Maybe we should go back and talk to Peter’s best friend, even though I don’t think he can be trusted. I trust him more than I trust Peter, which doesn’t take much.” 

Derek grunted softly. “I trust _any_ of the enemies we’ve face off with in the past more than I trust Peter. But you’re probably right.” He sighed. “We’ll go next weekend. I don’t particularly feel like dealing with either my uncle or his roommate twice in as many days.”

Lydia smiled when Derek said he would go with her to Eichen House. She hadn’t been demanding that he come with her, but she liked that he planned on it, anyway. “Okay.” She nodded. 

Giving her a small smile, Derek lifted his head to brush a light kiss on her chin. “Anytime.” He told her firmly.

Lydia took a deep breath, eager to change the subject and stop herself from dwelling too much on her fear. “How was your day?” 

“Eventful.” Derek responded, looking amused. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken care of a kid. The last one was Cora, and some of my aunts’ and uncles’ kids.”

Lydia grinned. “I would have liked to see how you handled dealing with Chloe today.” She giggled. “I told Scott, Stiles and Allison about us today, too. Allison was okay, Scott didn’t really say much of anything, but Stiles looked like I had short-circuited his brain.” 

Derek’s eyebrow shot up. “Really, now. That’s interesting.” He chuckled a little. “And Scott probably didn’t say anything because he either didn’t care, or didn’t understand. He’s been distracted lately, with everything happening.”

Lydia nodded, laughing. “Are you going to leave me for Stiles? Should Allison and I be worried?” 

Derek snorted, hauling her up by the waist and tugging her against his chest. “What do you think?” He kissed her lips lightly. “I wasn’t aware he was even attracted to me. I figured it was all you. It probably still is.”

“That’s sweet of you, but he used the words _really freaking hot_ to describe us.” Lydia smiled.

“Oh, yeah?” Derek smirked faintly. “Well, you _are_ ‘really freaking hot’. If he’s including me in that, I’m flattered.”

Lydia snorted and shook her head, pretending to be annoyed. “I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you, like you don’t already know, that you’re ‘really freaking hot,’ too.” 

Derek’s smile faltered, and he sighed. “I don’t actually like to hear it.” He muttered. “It was - nevermind.”

“Hi, I’m Lydia.” She held her hand out to him, a frustrated, but bemused smile on her face. “Other people might be willing to let you refuse to explain what’s going on in your head, or they might even get too scared by one of your typical scowls, but I’m not like them. You can talk, or we can sit here until you talk, but eventually, you’re telling me what you meant. If I’m doing something to offend you, I want to know what it is and I want to know why it offends you.” 

He shot her a small smile, shaking his head. “It’s nothing, I just… Some of the things I hear about my looks… It’s some of the same stuff that Kate said to me. Some of it was the first time I’d ever heard the words, and I thought I was in love at the time, so… you know, compliments from a girl I thought I was crazy about… it tends to be kept close to the heart. Even after everything else has gone completely to shit.”

Lydia was quiet, thinking over what she wanted to say. For the past couple of weeks, she had been rude and thoughtless, and it had only caused problems between her and Derek. She didn’t want that to happen again. “I imagine it must be a little difficult for you, thinking of me in any kind of romantic sense.” She conceded. “Knowing what I did to you, regardless of how it happened or who caused it, and the fact that I taught Jackson and Stiles how to make the molotov cocktails they used to incapacitate Peter.” She sat up a little straighter, making eye contact with Derek. “And from my perspective, you once allowed yourself to jump to the wrong conclusion and try to have me murdered by Isaac, who already had a grudge against me. But those things are in the past and what Kate did to you doesn’t define you, any more than what you and I have done to each other makes us who _we_ are. If you want to talk about former lovers and the awful things they’ve done to people we care about, we could mention Aiden and the role he played in murdering Boyd, right in front of me. I wanted nothing more to do with him, even after he tried to redeem himself. Even after he was dying and I knew it. I don’t hold myself responsible for Boyd and you shouldn’t hold yourself responsible for the things that Kate did to your family, no matter how much Peter wishes you would. My opinion of you and hers might seem similar, but the motivation behind the words is entirely different, and I know you’re aware of that. How would you want me to describe you?” 

Derek stared down at her, and he brought his hand up to stroke his fingers gently through her hair, tangling in the red locks and tugging affectionately before resuming the stroking. After a moment, he slid down to his side on the couch, pulling Lydia with him, and tugged her on top of him so that she was resting on his chest with his arms around her waist. “I don’t know.” He murmured, looking up at the ceiling. “Describe me… with your heart.” His gaze lowered to hers once more. “Tell me everything you feel about me, think about me. Not how you see me. Just how you feel.” He rubbed her back gently. “I’m sorry for all of the things I’ve done to you in the past, Lydia. I could claim that I was just doing what had to be done, but a lot of it… A lot of it was done out of fear. Constant fear.”

“I accept your apology. I think you’re stubborn.” Lydia murmured, smiling a little as she looked at him. “You automatically assume the worst or you think people around you can only have ulterior motives, not genuine intentions to see you happy. You’re paranoid and jaded. And you have every reason to be all of those things. That’s why I like being able to get you to smile.” 

Derek smiled softly. “I’ve been doing that a lot more in the last few days than I have in a while.” He murmured.

Lydia grinned and kissed Derek, resting a hand on his cheek. She sighed when she heard the elevator. “Damn it.” 

Derek’s head fell back against the couch cushion with a sigh before he carefully shifted Lydia off of him and swung his legs to the ground. He pressed a kiss to Lydia’s mouth before standing and moving to the door to open it.

Allison smiled up at him. “Hi!”

Malia nodded to him, smirking a little at the reddish flush on his skin.

Derek grunted and waved them in. “Chloe’s asleep.”

Stiles averted his gaze from Derek and Lydia for a few minutes as he sat down at the table, resting his clasped hands on it. “I’m sorry we left at lunch, before you saw Astrid.” He began, carefully glancing up at Lydia. “I think the three of us just missed each other at the store, actually. I was there before you, but right after Allison. Uh, anyway, she was getting fired while I was trying to decide what to buy. For Allison. Not for me.” 

Lydia snorted, but shook her head. “I know you guys think she’s just the typical high school student, but I sensed death around her. Coming from her. It was the worst thing I’ve dealt with, and I’ll never get that feeling to go away.” She tried to think of a way to explain it to her friends. “Have you ever had food poisoning?” 

Malia grimaced. “Yes. I wasn’t used to foods I didn’t have to catch for myself once I came back. My dad - uh. Mr. Tate kind of lost it.”

“That’s really gross.” Stiles remarked, frowning at Malia. He looked back at Lydia. “Where are you going with this?” 

“Imagine your stomach rolling, the way it does before you throw up.” Lydia began. “But it’s not your stomach, it’s your... well, your spirit. Let’s not turn this into a theological conversation, please. Just assume I mean your entire being and move on. I could tell, with everything that makes me who I am, that something was off about her.” 

Allison frowned, sitting on the arm of the couch and tapping her knee. “She seemed so nice.” She sighed eventually, pouting and leaning back against the back of the couch.

Malia scowled at Stiles. “Well, excuse me for being a damn coyote for eight years of my life. It wasn’t like I could go through a McDonald’s drive-thru and ask for the ‘little were-pup’s meal.’”

“I’m pretty sure they would have fed you if you had shown up.” Stiles countered. “Or you could have gotten the food on your own.” 

Malia grabbed a pillow off of Derek’s couch and threw it at Stiles’ face. “I was nine years old and suffering not just from my very first shift but from murdering my mom and sister. I wasn’t exactly in a position where that seemed like a real idea to me.”

Allison grabbed the pillow before it could connect and threw it to the ground, scowling. “Nope. Not right now, Malia. Knock it off.”

Malia let out a low, rumbling growl, baring her teeth at Allison.

Allison rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s great.”

Derek sighed and put his hand gently on the back of Malia’s neck, stroking gently. “Shh. Calm down.”

Malia nearly melted into Derek’s touch, her shoulders slumping as she sighed. “‘Kay.” She mumbled.

Lydia looked up at Allison, gauging her best friend’s reaction. “Anyway, Derek and I were talking about it before all of you got here and he doesn’t think she’s a reaper. Of course, that’s based solely on her appearance and demeanor, but I’m starting to think we should just confront her. We’ve been on the defensive until now, and everything has blindsided us. I think it’s time for us to be more aggressive.” 

Allison glanced at Stiles, then looked back at Lydia warily. “Is aggressive a good idea for this?” She asked quietly, and her eyes darted toward Derek and Malia before lowering again guiltily. “I mean… I’d confront her, absolutely, but she hasn’t actually attacked us. Right?”

“Aggressive approaches don’t have to be violent.” Lydia explained. “I think you should just corner her at school and ask her what’s going on. Any of you. I’d offer to do it myself, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“I think until we know for sure what’s going on, you should keep away from her, definitely.” Derek agreed, looking at Lydia.

“I can do it. I don’t give a crap.” Malia shrugged.

Lydia smiled. “Well, that doesn’t surprise me.” She teased. “That’s typical for you.” 

Malia grinned at her. “It’s only the truth. I can take care of myself. If she tries anything, I can take her down.”

“Just take someone with you.” Lydia advised. “There’s no reason for any of us to have to be doing anything on our own, knowing the potential risks.” She watched Stiles make a face and start laughing as he typed something on his phone. “Okay, we’re in the middle of a serious discussion. What are you doing?” 

“Answering questions.” Stiles glanced up, his smile faltering. “Sorry, but that’s seriously what I was doing. I’m working on getting Allison completely engrossed in all of the things I do online.” 

“Emphasis on the gross.” Lydia muttered. 

“You know, you might like this one.” Stiles handed his phone over to Lydia. “Just look at it and see what you think.” 

Lydia sighed and started scrolling through the questions Stiles had already answered. “Why is _Christine_ your favorite horror film? I thought it would be something more like _It_ , considering it takes an entire group of people to work together to fight the evil entity in that one.” 

“I don’t need your snark.” Stiles took his phone back from Lydia. “What’s your favorite one, then? _The Devil Wears Prada_?” 

Lydia leaned forward a little, peering up at Stiles. “You had sex, didn’t you?” 

Stiles stared back. “I might have. Why?” 

Malia leaned toward him, narrowing his eyes, and gave a single, pointed sniff. “If she could smell you, I’d say it was because the cloying smell of frustration is gone. Now you just smell like sex, satisfaction and oranges.”

Allison ducked her head, fighting off a grin, then stood up. “I’m gonna go get Chloe.” She blurted, and ran up the stairs.

Lydia smiled. “Malia, when I rule the world, you’re okay with being one of my minions, right?” 

Malia blinked at her languidly. “Do I get to be head minion?”

Lydia pretended like she needed a minute to think about it, just to see how Malia would react. “Yes.” She nodded. 

“Then yes.” Malia nodded back, smirking at Lydia as she leaned back against the couch, folding her arms over her chest.

Stiles glanced between the two of them, then walked away to sit back down. “I don’t want either of you coming after me one day, so I’m just making it clear right now that I’m Team Lydia, in the event of an apocalyptic kind of government meltdown. Or any other disaster in which the world is thrown into chaos.” 

“Good boy.” Malia replied.

Derek’s head ducked down, and his shoulders shook in amusement. “I’m staying out of this entirely.”

“That’s fine, you don’t get a vote.” Lydia glanced over her shoulder at Derek and smiled. “You could try to argue with me on any issue and I’d just change my mind.” 

Derek grunted, sidling up behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist. “I think it’s kind of fun, arguing with you.” He murmured.

“Oh, is that why you’ve been a thorn in my side for the past week?” Lydia grinned. “You should have just said something.” 

“Lydia, think about who you just said that to.” Stiles remarked, not looking up from his phone. 

Derek smirked. “Don’t act like it hasn’t been thrilling you just as much.” He told Lydia, pressing a kiss to her ear.

Lydia turned to face Derek, kissing him. “I wasn’t going to.” She murmured. 

Malia turned to look at Stiles, leaning over the arm of the couch to peer at his phone. “Why would you only be immortal if we could be?” She asked, frowning.

Stiles smiled. “Because if I had to live forever and watch all of you guys die around me, it wouldn’t even be worth it. I’d start looking into ways to Highlander myself.” 

Derek hugged Lydia against his chest, stroking her back gently. He looked at Stiles. “You’re going to have a difficult time explaining to your dad why there’s suddenly people all over the county with missing heads.”

Stiles stared blankly at Derek for a few seconds. “No, I said ‘Highlander _myself._ ’ Not other people.” 

Derek frowned. “Isn’t the Highlander the - okay, whatever, nevermind.” He furrowed his brow, then shook his head and sighed. “I outlasted nearly my entire family, and I couldn’t bring myself to do something like that.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not me.” Stiles muttered. “And you’ve never really inflicted damage on anyone else, either. You wanted to, but we wouldn’t let you.” 

“Shut up, Stiles.” Lydia murmured, twisting around in Derek’s arms to look at her friend as she leaned back against Derek. “We’ve got enough really happening around here without your hypothetical wars and immortal sword fights.” 

Derek couldn’t help glaring at Stiles, and he sat down, tugging Lydia into his lap, his large hand spreading itself over her belly, almost like he was protecting himself by instinctively protecting her - nevermind that there was no immediate danger.

Allison wandered back down the stairs, holding Chloe gently on one hip. She smiled at the rest of the group and lightly pushed at Stiles’ shoulder until she could sit down on his other side.

Stiles turned his head to look at Allison, smiling and kissing her before he ruffled Chloe’s hair. “We probably ought to -” He murmured. 

“Sure, run away.” Lydia sighed. “I really wanted to talk about this.” She put her head down on Derek’s shoulder and started playing idly with the buttons on his shirt. 

Derek put his hand over hers, giving her a light kiss as he slipped his hand around her hips.

Allison leaned against Stiles, drawing her legs up underneath her as she tucked Chloe between herself and her boyfriend, resting her head on Stiles’ shoulder. “I don’t mind staying, Stiles.” She told him with a small smile.

Stiles nodded. “Okay.” He agreed, fighting the urge to look back at Lydia and Derek, seated across from him and Allison. 

Malia glanced between Stiles and the other couple and rolled her eyes.

Derek stroked his thumb lightly over Lydia’s stomach. “So we basically need to gear up for another crapstorm.” He muttered.

“I don’t want to be involved.” Stiles blurted. “I’ll research from home and call you guys with information, but I’m not driving anyone around or rushing off to do anything. Chloe’s here with us for a reason and she doesn’t need to - I’m not risking myself.” 

Derek blinked at him. “You’re willingly sitting out?” He asked, looking surprised.

Allison shook her head. “It’s not that hard to believe. We both want to protect Chloe. She shouldn’t be thrust into the middle of this.” She ran her hand over Chloe’s head, cupping the little girl’s cheek affectionately. “I might sit out, too. I don’t - I can’t do the self-sacrifice play this time around. I want to be there for her.”

Now Lydia looked startled. “Listen, I appreciate that you’re concerned about her, but we need you both to be involved. We’ll all do whatever it takes to keep her safe, I can promise you that because I know we all care. But you can’t ignore what you’re both here to do.” 

Allison looked uncomfortable, frowning and twisting her fingers around Stiles’. “That’s the thing. We haven’t narrowed down what it is exactly that we’re here to do. We just know that, whatever it is, it’s dangerous, and it’s probably going to bite us both in the butt.” She looked at her boyfriend. “We’ve all been damaged in the last few years, but Stiles and I keep walking out of situations like this scathed. I know you’d do everything you can to keep Chloe safe, but she’s…” She swallowed, looking down at the little girl. “She’s so important, Lyds. I don’t want her to get hurt. Even the possibility of it is breaking my heart.”

Chloe looked up at Stiles and Allison, frowning, but not saying anything. She glanced over at Lydia and Derek, then squirmed down to run over to them. “Don’t be mad.” She pouted. 

Derek reached down to lift Chloe one-handed onto the couch with them. “We’re not mad, sweetheart.” He glanced at Lydia questioningly. “Well, I’m not mad. I kind of understand.”

“I’m not mad.” Lydia sighed. “I can think someone is making a mistake and not be mad.” She kissed Derek lightly and got up, avoiding everyone’s gazes as she walked up the spiral stairs. 

Allison bit her lower lip, looking after Lydia. Her gaze darted to where Chloe was comfortably planted and curled into Derek’s side, and she sighed, looking down at her hands.

Malia shifted in place, her leg bouncing slightly, before she got up and moved to Allison’s side, pushing the older girl on the shoulder. “Go talk to her. I’ll drag their attention to something else.”

Allison looked up at Malia and swallowed, then smiled gratefully, standing up and running up the staircase after Lydia.

Lydia sat down on Derek’s bed and looked up at Allison. “If I was in your situation, I’d be running as far from this town as I can get, so I do understand that.” She began, twisting her fingers together in her lap. “But I’m not in your situation and I don’t know what’s coming. None of us do. Maybe I’m losing my mind again and that idiot did something to me. I don’t know and I hate not knowing, but I do know that I can’t fight the way you can. You’re talented. Not gifted, you didn’t wake up knowing what you know. It took you time to become who you are. Kira was gifted and whatever’s going on, the town pushed her out and dragged you back here. Two weeks ago, you were talking like the nemeton was controlling things and I said you couldn’t be serious, but now I think you’re right and I was actually wrong. I think everything about this town starts and ends with that stupid tree stump.” 

Allison sat down beside Lydia and dropped her chin onto the other girl’s shoulder. “I don’t know what to do.” She said honestly, wincing. “I don’t want to go into another fight, I don’t want to risk myself. I don’t want to take myself away from everyone who needs me.” She sighed. “But there is a part of me that’s screaming at the idea that I could even consider not fighting, not protecting you guys and Chloe. I guess I’m just stuck… I don’t know what to do or which way to go, or which is right and which is wrong.”

“I don’t understand how things got like this.” Lydia whispered. “A lot of it has been good, like you and Stiles getting together, and me and Derek. But I had someone put memories of a bloody battle in my head, yesterday. Today, I saw someone that made me feel like I was too terrified to even scream for all of the death surrounding her, and she was exceptionally nice to you, getting herself fired for it. And for what? So you could wear some tacky, holiday-themed lingerie?” She shook her head. “Something is _wrong_ here and I wish for just one second that you could feel it, even though I don’t actually want you to, just so you would know what it’s like.” 

Allison hesitated, then squeezed Lydia’s hand. “Maybe I can’t feel it myself, but you can, and I trust you. If you say something’s wrong, then something’s wrong.” She nodded.

Lydia gave Allison a grateful smile, pressing her lips together and fighting back tears as she nodded. “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Derek and I are going back to Eichen House soon, to talk to that... Doctor Valack again. I want to know everything he knows. If you plan on confronting Astrid, I really don’t want you doing it alone. I felt your death, but it was complicated. It felt like every death you could have ever experienced. And Stiles. Every death. Derek. Scott. Liam. Malia. Kira. Jackson.” She closed her eyes, not wanting to continue naming names. She knew she would never stop. “Every death. Every possible death. That’s why I thought she was a reaper, but I’m not certain because I’ve never encountered this before and I’m not willing to jump to any conclusions.” 

“Oh, god. Lydia.” Allison breathed, reaching for her friend and tugging her into a tight hug. “I won’t go alone. I swear I won’t. I don’t have any plans to die, not any time soon, I promise you.”

Lydia put her arms around Allison to hug her in return. “I can’t warn you of any impending death omens or anything while Astrid is around. I would never stop screaming, once I started. I want you and Stiles to be safe, honestly, but I’ve never been this terrified. I ended up telling Scott today that he might be better off sending Liam to join Satomi’s pack, and not even two minutes later, I was telling him to go find Liam and keep him safe. I almost asked you, earlier, to call Jackson and Isaac and tell them to stay away. But I think that they’re dumb and they’d be ten times more likely to show up if you did that. Also, if they’re supposed to be here, they’ll end up here, anyway.” 

Allison let out a soft, short giggle. “They will. They’ve been wanting to come back, and I don’t think anything could stop them, unless fate stepped in and canceled their flight, or something.”

“If they do come back, you won’t have to worry so much about fighting. A few of the right words in front of Jackson and he’ll be anxious to do everything, just to prove himself to the rest of us. He’s always been like that.” Lydia sighed. “He’s stupid, that way.” 

Allison’s smile softened. “He is, but it’s also kind of sweet. I don’t want to throw him headlong into danger, but the fact that he’ll do it anyway, sometimes, just to prove himself to us is just really…” She shrugged. “He’s a better guy than I thought he was, is all.”

“Yes.” Lydia murmured in agreement. She leaned forward, even though it made no difference, like she was trying to determine whether or not the guys were listening from downstairs. She turned toward Allison, giving her a questioning look and hoping the brunette would understand what her unspoken thought was. 

Allison smirked faintly and shook her head. “No. Never.”

Lydia laughed. “Well, that’s good to know, I suppose, but that’s not what I wanted to ask you.” She pointed at herself, then down toward the living room of Derek’s apartment. 

Allison threw her head back and laughed. “ _Oh_ ,” she said. Thinking for a minute, she winked at Lydia, grinning widely and giving her a thumbs-up. “Very nice. I approve.”

Lydia smiled back in relief. “Thank you. After Aiden, I’ve been feeling a need for more caution in relationships.” 

“I think that’s fair.” Allison murmured. “And you know I’m always here for you, whenever you need an opinion.”

“I’m so glad you came back here.” Lydia admitted, smiling. “I know you and Kira got along, but sometimes she drove me nuts with things she said and her voice and how clumsy she is. She’s just... I missed you.” 

Allison knocked her head gently against Lydia’s, leaning against her friend. “I missed you, too. A whole lot.” She gave a small laugh. “And yeah, I could tell Kira drove you up the wall. I just felt kindred with her, you know? She was the new girl, I used to be the new girl.” She shrugged.

“I meant it before, about Chloe. We’ll all do whatever we have to do, just to make sure she’s safe. I’m sorry if it sounded like I expected you to put her at risk.” Lydia stood up, feeling like she had said everything she needed to say. “I won’t let anyone hurt her.” 

Allison stood as well, smiling. “I know. Thank you. It’s weird, and she hasn’t been here long, but - I don’t know. That connection Stiles and I have to her… It’s like we absolutely have to keep her safe. No matter what.”

Lydia nodded and walked back downstairs, sitting beside Derek. She yawned, then looked a little embarrassed. “It’s barely five o’clock, I shouldn’t be so tired.” 

Derek’s lips quirked up, and he held his arm out to her. “C’mere.” Chloe had fled his side, and Malia had disappeared with her somewhere into the loft - he could hear childish giggling, and questions (and the questions were all from Malia).

Lydia smiled and leaned against him, closing her eyes. “You’re so sweet.” She murmured. “I’m not going to school until Astrid quits. I might have to lie and say I have the chicken pox, after winter break, if she doesn’t go. I can also somehow have come down with the flu and a kidney infection, one right after the other, if I have to maintain lying to avoid attending classes.” 

Allison curled up next to Stiles and said, “I can get your homework and everything for you.”

“And you can stay here for some of those days. If you want to.” Derek told her.

Lydia smiled. “Thank you.” She opened her eyes. “At some point, I’ll have to go do more Christmas shopping, too.” She glanced at Derek. “Maybe tomorrow?” 

Derek raised his eyebrows. “You want me with you?” He asked.

“Yes, I do.” Lydia laughed. “Do we need to have this discussion in front of everyone?” She glanced over at Stiles and Allison. “Because it won’t bother me in the least.” 

Derek turned toward her, smiling faintly. “Let’s.”

Stiles looked conflicted, but he stayed where he was, mildly curious about what was going to happen during their conversation. He had spent most of his life around Scott, who hadn’t had a girlfriend until Allison came along. He had seen Melissa and Rafael arguing constantly, had vague recollections of his parents’ teasing nature around one another, and knew that Lydia spent time trying to make sure the guys she dated knew she was the one in charge. He didn’t think that would work out so well with Derek, who had once slammed Stiles’ head into a steering wheel for daring to attempt to have the upper hand in a conversation between the two of them and Danny. 

“All right.” Lydia murmured, sitting up and turning a little to face Derek. “I’m not sure what you’re hoping to get out of this, but I’m not looking for a simple flirtation.” 

Derek paused, sinking his teeth into his lower lip for a moment, before he replied. “Honestly? I’m not, either. I think it would be simpler, but…” He shook his head and scoffed at himself. “When have I ever done the simplest thing?” He looked at her warily. “We initially went into this thinking it was just sex, right? Or was I the only one?”

“It wasn’t just you.” Lydia admitted. “The timing seems bad. In a good way, but too good.” She groaned in frustration. “You know what I’m trying to say, don’t you?” 

Derek smiled crookedly and sighed. “It’s too good to be true?”

Lydia looked appalled. “No, Derek!” She shook her head, feeling guilty that she had led him to think she felt that way, when she didn’t. “It’s true and it’s actually happening and I don’t mind it at all. Maybe I should, but I don’t.” She glanced at her friends, then looked back at Derek, going back to feeling uncertain. “Is it possible, maybe, that I’ve been wrong about all of it and this is meant to just be good? Like maybe... there’s nothing to fear, at all?” 

“I think… that we’ve both been burned so badly before, that jumping straight into ‘something to fear’ was going to be a given for the both of us.” Derek murmured. He shot a glance at Allison and Stiles, and then shook his head. “I… want this to be good.” He admitted. “I really do. But my track record…” He trailed off and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

“You’ve both dated psychos.” Stiles blurted. “We get it. The whole town gets it. Seriously, I heard an old woman at the grocery store talking about Jackson being an asshole once.” He grinned. “But, you know, if you like each other... I mean, you do like each other. It’s obvious. Nobody’s expecting you to buy a farm and raise dalmatians, just go on a few dates and see what happens next. But you’re not allowed to fly to Paris and say awkward things to each other, because that’s just for me and Allison. Get your own cute story.” 

Derek raised his head slowly, giving Stiles a bemused look before looking at Lydia. “So apparently, Paris is out.”

“Paris is overrated, anyway.” Lydia scoffed playfully. “We can do better.” She smiled. “I can think of at least twenty places we can go.” 

Derek’s lips turned up. “I’ve always been particularly fond of Ireland.”

Lydia looked intrigued. “Is that your way of asking me to go to Ireland with you?” She had books at home with multi-colored plastic tabs to mark information on the places in Ireland she wanted to go, and had ignored them for months, after finding out she was a banshee. She thought she would need to stay close to the pack, to keep them safe and let them keep her safe, in return. She wanted to see Galway and Dublin, and get lost like the woman she had seen in a movie she loved. She wanted to be caught up in the magic and stories of the places she visited, and she wanted to stay just past the time it took her to get homesick. 

Stiles tried not to laugh as he watched Lydia’s face light up in a way he hadn’t seen since they were kids. “Well, if he doesn’t agree to take you, I’ll chip in and help pay for your ticket.” He smiled. “You should go.” 

Derek pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "My mother's family is Irish. Celtic, I mean. My heritage is in Ireland." He paused and pulled back to look at her. "I would love to take you there."

Allison's face softened and she cooed at them both. "Awww!"

Lydia beamed at Derek. “Well, we should start making plans now.” She murmured. “Because if you want a shorter trip, spring break would work nicely. I would rather spend the summer after graduation there, but it’s really up to you.” She knew how it might sound to everyone else in the room, but she meant it. She didn’t want to be manipulated by someone, but she knew Derek didn’t want that for himself, either. Agreeing on things instead of just trying to get their own way all the time would be good for both of them. 

A delighted smile grew and widened on Derek’s face, and he tilted his head down to kiss her. “I can’t think of a better graduation gift for you than that.” He told her quietly.

“I just want you to be happy.” Lydia murmured. 

Stiles sat up, frowning and glancing toward the other end of the loft, where Malia and Chloe were talking. He was starting to think Lydia wasn’t paranoid, after all. “Crap.” 

Allison looked at him, frowning. “What is it?” She asked.

“I’m probably overreacting.” Stiles began, biting down on his tongue as he thought about what to say. “But as sure as I am, first off, that Chloe is our daughter, I’m also sure that something weird is happening, like Lydia’s been saying. You’re probably going to say no to this, but have you ever watched _Angel_ or _The Matrix_?” 

Allison shook her head. “Not _The Matrix_ , no.”

Derek looked up, interested. “Why?”

Stiles leaned forward a little, gearing up for his explanation. “There’s an episode of _Angel_ where this demon or god or whatever she was, I didn’t pay much attention because I was hoping for a cameo by, um, the Fraggle-looking guy that plays with dinosaurs on Firefly. I can’t ever remember his name because all I hear in my head when I see him is the Fraggle Rock song.” He squinted like he could see the actor’s name if he tried hard enough. “And it isn’t just when he plays Wash on Firefly, either. I couldn’t even take him seriously on Dollhouse. Also, because his name there was Alpha.” 

“Was there a point to this?” Lydia sighed. 

Derek sighed. “Alan Tudyk. I’m starting to wonder if there’s a point, too.”

Allison looked at Derek in surprise, then stared at Stiles, pointing at the werewolf. “He knows Whedon.” 

“Oh my god.” Stiles groaned. “Stop it. Listen. So Wembley wasn’t on the episode, and Zoe was trying to convince everyone that life was perfect with her around, but she was eating people like they were Soylent Green. But yeah, so they were kind of freaked out by how peaceful everything was because it didn’t make sense. And maybe that’s what’s going on here.” 

“You think a god is eating people.” Lydia repeated. “And we’re not paying attention because you finally got laid?” 

Allison scowled. “Hey.” She shook her head. “No, he’s - he’s trying to say that basically, we’re…” She glanced at Stiles. “We’re living life, and things are going well for us and everything, but something sinister is happening under the surface, which means things _can’t_ really be that good, obviously.”

“So you took a really long way of saying you agree with me.” Lydia looked annoyed. “Okay, well, thank you?” 

Derek squeezed her arm gently. “Just be glad we’re all on the same page now.” He told her softly.

Lydia nodded. “Right. Sorry.” She mumbled. 

“Do you think it’s Astrid?” Stiles looked worried. “Maybe none of us should go to school.” 

Allison sighed, dropping her head to Stiles’ shoulder. “I feel like that might just be inviting her to come find us, if you do. If it’s her.” Allison looked at Lydia worriedly. “I don’t - I think she’s involved, definitely, but I don’t know if it’s actually her.”

“I know you want to believe that she’s a great person, after what she did for you.” Lydia said gently. “But maybe she was just trying to assuage her own guilt for what she’s going to do to you later? Or try to do, anyway.” 

Allison’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t want to believe the worst of people.” She said softly. “I want to know that she’s actually the one doing this to us - whatever it is she’s doing - before I put the blame squarely on her, you know?”

Derek shifted, looking at Allison. “To do that, you’re going to have to outright ask her. Which you were planning to do anyway, right?”

Allison nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“I’ll be there with you.” Stiles reached for Allison’s hand. “You don’t have to do this on your own.” 

Allison smiled softly at him, squeezing his hand and tucking herself against his side. “Thank you.”

Lydia tilted her head to the side and smiled faintly as she watched her friends. She looked back at Derek. “We’re going to Galway. And Dublin.” 

Derek smiled down at her, rubbing a hand over her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Yeah, we are. Maybe we’ll even go to Belfast. Killarney… Anywhere you want.”

“I’m going to be driving everyone insane for the next six months. I just want to make sure you all know that I don’t mean any harm, I’m just excited.” Lydia murmured. She glanced over at Allison and Stiles. “You guys should go.” 

“To Ireland?” Stiles smiled. 

“Away.” Lydia corrected. “Please.” 

Allison snorted. “Come on, sweetie. I’m pretty sure we interrupted their alone time when we got here.” She said it with a grin, then turned around. “Chloe! Malia, come on, we’re leaving!”

Lydia watched as everyone left the apartment, and left her alone with Derek. “If it does turn out that some kind of Fraggle Rock zombie sort of thing exists and is eating our town, I’d like to have what little time with you I can, before I have to figure out how to kill muppets.” She smiled. 

Derek grinned at her, tugging her properly into his lap. “I’m good with that, believe me.” He murmured, and tugged playfully at the hem of her shirt as he pulled her close for a gentle kiss.

Lydia moved to sit on Derek’s lap so that she faced him as she kissed back, gripping his shoulders. 

Derek clutched her thighs, squeezing the muscles in his hands, and kissed her thoroughly, his lips parting. His hands slid up her thighs to her waistband, unfastening the button and dragging down her zipper slowly.

“What’s off-limits with you?” Lydia asked quietly, moving up onto her knees and pushing her pants down her thighs. “I don’t think I have limits, myself.” 

Derek shook his head. “I don’t really have a lot, either,” he murmured, his eyes watching as she shoved her pants down. His hands moved to her blouse and unbuttoned it slowly, pushing the material off of her shoulders. 

Lydia reached behind her to unfasten her bra. “I guess we’ll find out together, then.” She was actually looking forward to seeing what crossed a line with Derek. The concept wasn’t new, she had used Jackson’s weaknesses against him constantly. But she didn’t want to do that to Derek. 

Derek lowered his head to her breast, wrapping his lips around her nipple as he yanked her body flush against him. “Together.” He murmured, echoing her. His fingers moved down to her underwear, slipping inside.

Lydia whimpered and leaned forward, pressing her hips down to get him to keep going. She put her forehead down on his shoulder and unfastened his jeans. 

Derek shifted her up enough to open his jeans completely, then settled her back down on his lap, his erection pressing up between her legs. He thrust up against her lightly, his fingers pressing inside of her as he placed sucking kisses on the skin of her throat.

Lydia slid her fingers into Derek’s hair and tightened her grip, pulling his head back a little as she leaned down to kiss him. “Upstairs right now.” She smiled, letting go of him and moving backward as she stood up and finished taking off her pants and underwear. 

Derek growled low in his throat, standing up after her. He yanked his shirt off, dropping it to the floor. His pants clung to his hips, and he stalked toward Lydia, tugging her into his arms for another kiss before wrapping his hand around hers and tugging her up the stairs. When he reached his room, he tossed her onto the bed and climbed above her, lowering his head to her breast once more as his fingers teased her. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to stop thinking that I’ll break.” Lydia arched her back and looked up at Derek. “I don’t want marks in obviously visible places, but anything that can be covered up without me having to resort to wearing a turtleneck or a scarf is fine with me. More than fine, in fact.” 

Derek smirked at her. “So you’re okay with me biting you, is what you’re saying?”

Lydia nodded, smiling back. “If you get too rough, I’ll let you know. But I don’t think you’d even come close. I think you’d hold back.” 

Derek pulled her into another kiss, this time biting at her lips until they reddened. He shoved his pants down enough that he could reach inside to cup himself, pulling his dick out and slipping inside of Lydia without another word. His head dropped to her shoulder for a moment. “You’re right.” He replied, and began to move, his teeth snagging her nipple and tugging.

Lydia grinned, tilting her head back. “Thank you.” She murmured. she didn’t care how it sounded, she had been waiting for this since she started thinking about what Derek would be like in bed. 

“Same goes for you.” Derek murmured against her skin, dragging his teeth over her skin. “If you want to bite, do it. I don’t mind.” He gave a hard thrust. “I like it.”

Lydia lifted her head and sank her teeth into Derek’s shoulder, wrapping an arm around him and resting her hand on his back. 

Derek grunted and pounded into her, pushing in as deeply as he dared before slowly pulling out and doing it again.

Lydia locked her ankles behind Derek’s back and only hesitated for a second before she bit down harder, closing her eyes. 

Derek’s eyes flashed and he let out a snarl, pressing Lydia back against the mattress firmly and fucking her hard and deep, his hips pistoning his dick in and out of her.

Lydia let go of Derek and reached behind her for the headboard of his bed, feeling disoriented for a few seconds by his pace. She opened her mouth to stop biting his shoulder, smiling as she turned her head to kiss him when she started to come. 

Derek growled against her mouth, his hips pumping and steadily slowing down. His hand slid to her leg, wrapping around the underside of her knee and pushing her leg up to her chest before he hammered home inside of her.

Lydia stared up at Derek, her eyes unfocused as she came a second time. “I feel a little upset at myself that we weren’t doing this sooner.” She murmured. 

Derek smirked. “We should definitely make up for lost time.” He replied, lowering his head and biting at her throat.

Lydia tilted her head back to encourage Derek to keep going. “Well, I won’t be at school until Astrid is gone. Something is going to have to occupy my time until then.” 

“I could absolutely be the one doing the occupying.” He nodded, gripping the skin at her collarbone and pressing his teeth down before he sucked firmly at the skin, a gentle, rosy bruise beginning to appear.

Lydia smiled. “I suppose I could let you take care of that.” She teased, running her fingers through his hair. 

“Oh, yeah?” Derek murmured, grinning back at her.

“Well, everyone else we know has to go to school and doesn’t have my excuse.” Lydia murmured lightly, hiding her smile. “It’s a shame, too. I was sort of hoping that the guy in my gym class with the constant bloody nose would leave his mouth-breather girlfriend for me.” 

Derek let out a low, rumbling snarl, pinning Lydia against the mattress and fucking into her roughly, a possessive look glinting in his eyes. “Who’s this?” He demanded.

“Wh- what?” Lydia stammered, then started laughing. “Derek, I was _kidding_! I’d never choose someone with a nasal condition over you, and certainly not someone who would settle for a mouth-breather.” She shook her head, or at least tried to, given the way the bed was moving underneath her. “I’ve already accepted that I’m better than most of my classmates, but that doesn’t mean I’d allow myself to settle for any of them. I don’t make a habit of showing up in just anyone’s apartment, wearing only my underwear in the middle of winter.” 

Derek’s eyes glazed over, and he grunted, lowering his head to kiss her. “Sorry.” He murmured, his brows furrowing together. “You’re right, of course you’re right. You wouldn’t - you’re not the sort of person that would do that to just anyone. I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”

“You got jealous.” Lydia mused. “It’s okay, I’m sure I’ll end up doing the same thing eventually.” 

“Yeah.” Derek murmured. “At least I won’t be the only one.” He pressed a kiss to her jaw, and then her chin.

“I’m not interested in anyone else.” Lydia ducked her head to make eye contact with Derek. “I used to be the kind of girl that didn’t care, but that’s not who I am anymore.” 

Derek’s eyes softened, and he reached up to cup the back of her head, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb. “Who are you now, Lydia?” He asked softly, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Lydia smiled back hesitantly, feeling more exposed than she had at any other point in the past two days. “I don’t know.” She murmured. 

Derek’s kiss that time was heady, slow and warm and deep. He took his time, his lips steady and sure as he parted them against Lydia’s, and carefully rolled over until he was resting on his back, Lydia above him and pressed firmly against his chest. “Whoever you are… I like her a lot.” He told her softly when he finally pulled back to look up into her eyes.

Lydia looked back down at Derek, feeling enamored in a way she hadn’t in a long time, if ever. She had grown up watching one romantic film after another, from _Casablanca_ to _The Notebook_ , wanting to fall in love without warning and feel like she couldn’t be complete without the other person in her life. She was starting to think she had found what she had always wanted. If she could have chosen anyone to be her other half, she wouldn’t have picked Derek Hale, but she figured it made perfect sense for things to have turned out this way. 

Derek gave her a small smile, and tugged her down for another soft kiss. “Come on, Lydia.” He murmured quietly. “Show me who you are.”

Lydia bit her lip when she pulled away, still lost in thought. “I don’t know what you mean.” She said finally, shivering a little at the thought of him being able to see through her and know the things that she still couldn’t even admit to herself. If she was Cinderella, this would be the part of the story where she ran off in a hurry and left her shoe behind, but she didn’t want to get up and leave Derek, and she knew he would just catch up to her, anyway. 

Derek didn’t say anything and just stared up at Lydia for a long moment, before saying, “Okay. I’m not going to push you into anything. Not if you aren’t ready for it.” He took her hand in his and gently kissed the back of her fingers.

“What’s your favorite movie, Derek?” Lydia sat up, straddling Derek’s waist as she looked down at him. She grabbed his hand and slid her fingers between his as she waited for his answer. 

Derek stared at her in surprise for a moment. He didn’t remember the last time anyone had asked him about that, let alone the last time anyone had cared at all. Looking suddenly shy, he ducked his head, reaching up with a free hand to scratch his head. “Uh. I like all sorts of movies, but…” He sighed. “This is a little embarrassing, but _Phantom of the Opera_.” The last words were a mumble.

Lydia stared at Derek for a few seconds, waiting for him to say he was kidding. When he didn’t, she smiled. “That’s a good one.” She nodded. “And I won’t tell anyone, since it embarrasses you.” She let go of his hand and rested both of her palms on his chest. “What do you like about it?” 

Derek slid his arms down and around her waist, hugging her close to him. He was quiet for a bit. “It’s not because of the music.” He said quickly, looking up at her. “Not… Not _just_ because of it, I mean. And… I don’t know, I don’t… really have a set reason for why I like it, or what I like about it. I just think… He’s lost. And I know how that feels.” He swallowed, furrowing his brow and looking up at her. “Does that make sense?”

Lydia nodded. “I like it because she’s wanted something for herself and society says she’s not allowed to have it, just because of where she comes from. And I know that he’s... so many people think he’s obsessive and not good for her, but he believes in her and doesn’t use her. He might have been misguided, but it was an era when that was widely accepted and most women didn’t fight back about it.” She pushed a lock of hair over her shoulder when it fell forward. “He’s not like Raoul, who ignored Christine when she said she was scared and didn’t want to be used to draw the Phantom out.” 

Rubbing her back gently, Derek sighed. “Well, I’ve definitely been guilty of the obsessive and misguided thing. And the entire town pretty much believes that I’m no good, but I can’t help that.” He quirked a small smile and shook his head. “I can blame Scott and Stiles for that, anyway.”

“Oh.” Lydia pressed her palm against her mouth and fought back a laugh. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be making fun of you at all, and I’m not. Not exactly. But your family has built all sorts of tunnels around this town and you used to hide out wherever you could. If you can play the piano, I might have to start telling the rest of the pack.” She smiled. 

Derek looked sheepish. “I had lessons. Got bored with them when I was twelve and begged my mom to let me play guitar.”

“Really?” Lydia pressed her lips together and tried to calm down, certain that he could hear her heartbeat pick up speed. 

Derek huffed softly, smiling. “Really. Had recitals and everything. I think I can play _Fur Elise_ and _Ode to Joy_ by rote to this day.”

“Derek, do you -” Lydia hesitated, realizing after she had already started speaking that he might say no or disagree with her. She didn’t generally ask for things if she thought she’d be dismissed or rejected. “Is it possible at all that you and I have been gravitating toward each other, this entire time?” 

Exhaling softly, Derek blinked lazily and tucked one arm behind his head. “I don’t know.” He said honestly, rubbing his other hand down her back. “I think it’s always possible, yeah. Maybe this was all predestined, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe we wouldn’t have ever come together if you hadn’t shown up at my door. I’m not sure there’s really a way to know.”

“I remember you from before the fire.” Lydia admitted quietly. “Vaguely, but I do. I helped you find a book in the library once, for a report you had to do.” She had been seven at the time, too short to reach the book she wanted, even after climbing up on one of the small stepladders. Derek had helped her, and she took one look at the book in his other hand and recommended a few others. 

Derek glanced at her, recognition appearing in his face. “You remember that?” His surprise melted into affection as his memory presented him with an image of a much-younger Lydia, so much tinier than he was with her bright red curls cascading down her back, but speaking with him as if they were the same age. His hand reached up to run through her hair, and something jolted in his chest that made it necessary for him to suck in air just to catch his breath. “Maybe we have been drifting toward each other.” He said softly. “But other things got in the way.”

Lydia smiled, nodding again. “Are you okay?” She wanted to lean down to kiss him again, but she thought she might have upset him somehow and wasn’t sure what to do about it. 

Derek made the decision for her, pulling her against him to kiss her. He nuzzled his cheek against hers almost immediately after. “For the first time in a really long while… Yeah. I think I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow Stiles and Allison on tumblr!
> 
> http://adderallandconverse.tumblr.com  
> http://deadlysilver.tumblr.com
> 
> Or you can ask some of the pack members questions...
> 
> Allison - http://ask.fm/crossbowsandsilver  
> Stiles - http://ask.fm/adderallandconverse  
> Lydia - http://ask.fm/ofpythagorasandprada
> 
> If there's something you want to see in this series, leave us a comment! We can't promise everything, but we'll try our best to work things in.


	15. Let Us Go and Make Our Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He folded his arms defensively against his chest and took a deep breath. “So answer me one question.” He was quiet for a moment before looking steadily at her. “Do you still care about me enough that you’d be willing to give me another chance?"

_December 22, 2012_

Stiles put his elbow down on the counter in front of him and leaned forward, groaning as he rubbed his forehead. The purpose of the town setting up a gift-wrapping location was, primarily, to get everyone out and talking to one another. Nobody was expected to tip the people wrapping the gifts, but Stiles had just finished fifteen items for one of the worst people in town, as far as he was concerned. He wouldn’t have minded her giving him something for all of the trouble she had just put him through. It had taken him over an hour to make sure she got everything the way she wanted it, and he had watched in growing irritation as one customer after another moved over to a different line and walked out with their wrapped gifts, shaking their heads at him like it was all his fault. 

“I’m sorry, is my presence here bothering you?” The woman demanded. 

Stiles grimaced, not looking up at her. He could swear she was laughing at him. “Lydia, I’m retroactively unliking you. You’re hellspawn. You’re the devil.” He stood up, blinking in surprise. “You’re giving me money?” 

Lydia pulled her hand back, smiling. “No, I’m giving you a break from this place. I already checked with the other people in here, and they’re fine with you disappearing for about half an hour. That gives you just enough time to come have coffee with us. But I’m paying for yours.” 

“Make it a hot chocolate and I’ll get my coat.” Stiles muttered. “Do you know how many people wanted to talk to me, and you wouldn’t let them with your insane need to monopolize my time?” 

Lydia laughed. “Fine, Stiles. I ran to get in here ahead of some of your neighbors. You should be thanking me. They were all talking about how you knocked Allison up and in their day, you’d be married to her already and be working three jobs. And then they were speculating that you were working three jobs, and this was just one of them. You just weren’t listening to them. They were all behind me, griping about you and waiting for their chance to say things to you directly. Every time they mentioned something else, I told you that you needed to redo something.” 

Stiles looked sheepish. “Okay, you’re not hellspawn.” 

“Maybe I am.” Lydia mused. “If the old stories are true.” She tugged at the end of her braid and grinned. 

“This is you, under the influence of Derek.” Stiles remarked, putting his coat on as he followed her to the door. 

“I’ve been under lots of things pertaining to Derek, but not his influence.” Lydia held the door open for Stiles. 

Scott spun around to look at Lydia from his seat, protesting. “What the heck was taking so long? I thought you only had, like, five things to wrap?” He shot Stiles a smile. “Hey, buddy.”

"Fifteen." Lydia smiled. "I had to save Stiles from public ridicule."

"By tormenting me." Stiles shook his head and sat beside Scott, leaning against him. “She claims that a bunch of my neighbors were going to start harassing me about having a daughter at my age or whatever, and she was making me re-wrap everything in an attempt to spare me the drama.” 

“And pissing off the populace while she was at it?” Scott added in askance, then looked at Lydia and grinned. “Good thinking.”

Lydia smiled back. “Thank you.” She got money out of her purse. “I have to go buy Stiles a hot chocolate and get myself something. Any refills while I’m up?” 

Scott rattled his cup, trying to peer inside the tiny opening, then scrunched his nose. “Something mocha-y? And whipped-creamy? And with chocolate syrup.” He blinked his eyes at her innocently and smiled. “Please?”

“Fine, but I expect a really great Christmas present from you, this year.” Lydia got in line, wondering when Jackson and Isaac would be showing up. They were supposed to be arriving today, but she wasn’t sure what time, or if they would even be willing to talk to the pack, aside from Allison. 

Scott watched her go, grinning, and looked back at Stiles. “One of these days, I’m going to ask her to get me something, and I’m going to get knocked on my ass for it.”

“Yeah, by Derek.” Stiles smiled. “Are you done shopping yet?” 

Scott groaned. “No. I haven’t even thought about what to get anyone, dude, and I’m kind of panicking. I don’t even know what to get my mom, or you.” He spun and looked at Stiles manically. “Tell me what you want for Christmas!”

Stiles grinned slowly. “Remember when you talked me into playing World of Warcraft and then you quit playing it because you met Allison and became a werewolf and just developed a life, in general?” 

Scott blinked, looking wary. “Um. Yeah?”

“You’re going to start playing again.” Stiles nodded. “And you’re making a new character, to do that. I’ll let you pick, Horde or Alliance, and whatever race you want. But you’re not allowed to refuse. Think of Christmas, Scott. Think of the reindeer.” 

Scott cringed, then slumped in his seat, pouting. “... The things I do for you, man.” He sighed. “Okay. I’ll start playing it again, for you and Christmas and puppies and world peace.”

Stiles fist-pumped, grinning. “Great. Everything is going according to my plan.” He nudged Scott. “Lydia’s lost interest in taking over the world and I’m never going to be able to, but I think I can at least conquer Azeroth.” 

Scott scratched his head, looking blankly at Stiles. “Azeroth? I thought that was just in the game.”

“What... Scott, it _is_ in the game. It’s the world in World of Warcraft.” Stiles pouted and slumped in his seat, playing with a packet of sugar. 

“But you said you wanted to take… Oh. Right.” Scott grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, dude.”

Stiles flicked his wrist as he let go of the sugar packet, tossing it at Scott’s nose. “No problem.” 

Scott slapped the packet away, squinting at Stiles before he tackled the other boy around the waist, digging his fingers into his friend’s sides.

Stiles burst out laughing and hugged Scott. “I’m not afraid to pee my pants in the middle of this shop, all right? You should keep that in mind.” 

“Right, yeah, sure.” Scott grinned, hugging the other boy back tightly. He almost didn’t want to let go, the last week of strife so overwhelming and exhausting that he wanted nothing more than to cling to his best friend. “You might be a little more afraid if Allison shows up, though.”

“She loves me and she might be willing to take a shower with me if I ask.” Stiles remarked, then remembered who he was talking to. “Shit. Sorry. I don’t care how okay I want you to be with all of this, that was unnecessary.” 

Scott coughed and cleared his throat, smiling at Stiles awkwardly, but Stiles’ words had been enough to make him let go. “It’s cool, whatever. She’s your girlfriend now. You can say shit like that.” 

“Can, but won’t. Not anymore. Not to you, anyway. I think I’m going to save that for Isaac.” Stiles grinned. “He deserves it. You don’t.” 

Scott ducked his head, grinning. “Okay. Yeah, maybe he does.” He laughed a little. 

Lydia came back, holding a drink carrier. She set it on the table and made sure she had her own drink before she pulled it out of the carrier and took a sip. “What were you two talking about?” 

Scott looked at Stiles for a moment, then said, “How much of a butt Isaac is.”

“I vote yes. Or very much. Whichever.” Lydia murmured. “I realize my logic about this might be somewhat faulty, but Isaac was all set to murder me, primarily because I once turned him down when he asked me out. I know Derek asked or told him to, and yet I’m now dating Derek, but he was misguided.” She smiled to herself for a moment. “Isaac could have said no.” 

Scott’s face fell. “Oh, god. Am I a horrible person that I actually forgot about that?” He took his new drink, looking at Lydia apologetically. “I’m sorry, Lyds.”

Lydia shrugged. “I won’t let myself forget.” She murmured. “I want to get along with everyone while they’re here, and especially before we all leave for college. But I won’t allow myself to become a story about what not to do.” 

Scott nodded. “Fair enough.” He said softly, then leaned in and hugged her gently.

Stiles took a long drink from his hot chocolate, glancing at his watch. “I need to get back soon.” He frowned. “But I’m done at four.” 

“Unless one of your other future kids shows up.” Lydia teased. 

Stiles looked horrified. “Don’t say that, please?” 

Scott covered his mouth, snickering softly. “But what if they do? What if it’s a boy?” He paused, and then practically lit up. “Stiles, you should have a boy!”

“I’m pretty sure I have no control over that.” Stiles snorted. 

“You can, but it costs a lot of money.” Lydia mused. “It would be cute if you and Allison had two kids, though. Of course, that’s up to her.” 

“She always told me she wanted at least two.” Scott agreed, nodding, then looked a little embarrassed. “I mean, that might have changed? I guess? I wouldn’t know anymore.” He scratched the back of his head.

“I guess you’re just going to have to ask her.” Lydia smiled, waving at Allison and everyone else trailing behind her. 

Allison waved back, grinning and gesturing. “Look who I found wandering around at the airport like lost puppies.”

Jackson slowly turned his head to glare at Allison. “Ha. Ha, ha.”

Allison giggled and climbed into Stiles’ lap once she reached him, giving him a kiss. “Apparently, jet lag hit someone _hard_.”

Derek shook his head, approaching Lydia’s side and pressing his hand against the small of her back as he pulled her toward him. “He’s been complaining since he got off the plane. I’m not sure how Isaac survived the trip, to be honest, without killing him.” He looked toward the curly-haired boy, smirking.

“I traded seats with someone and watched the in-flight movies.” Isaac smiled. 

“Hi, baby.” Stiles murmured, putting his arms around Allison and ignoring everyone else. “I missed you.” 

Lydia rolled her eyes. 

Allison grinned down at Stiles, nuzzling the bridge of her nose against her cheek. “I missed you, too, handsome.” She murmured, resting against him happily.

Jackson grunted. “So this is actually a thing now, huh?” He raised his eyes toward Lydia, his gaze fixed on where Derek was holding her. “And so’s that?”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “That would be a yes. It’s very much a thing. Did you want to make a comment?”

Jackson shrugged. “No. Nope. Got nothing to say. Why would I?”

Scott sighed, rolling _his_ eyes this time. He smiled welcomingly at Malia and Liam, gesturing them closer to him so that they had a place to sit.

Lydia smiled and leaned into Derek’s side. “Somebody grab another table and pull it over, so that we can all sit down.” She tilted her head back, clutching Derek’s shirt. “Not you. You stay here and kiss me.” 

Derek laughed, bending his head down to pull Lydia into a firm, thorough kiss, his hands spanning her small waist and holding her against him.

Isaac glanced from Lydia and Derek to Stiles and Allison, then looked over at Jackson. “This town has never stopped being odd.” 

Jackson scoffed, looking back at him. “You’re not kidding.” He muttered.

Malia stared bemusedly at Jackson, then said, “You’re incredibly whiny.” 

Lydia giggled. “He always has been.” She remarked. “Hi, by the way.” 

Malia beamed at her and jumped up, bouncing to Lydia and Derek’s side. “Hi.”

Jackson gave Lydia a small wave and a smirk. “Looking as gorgeous as ever, Lyds.” He said quietly.

Lydia’s smile brightened. “Thank you.” She nodded. “You look like Paris has been good for you, too.” It was strange to her that a month ago, she had been wondering if she and Jackson would get back together, and now she had no romantic interest in him at all. She wanted to be his friend. They had never really been friendly toward one another, even while they dated. Especially while they dated. 

“Thanks.” Jackson nodded back at her, then looked away awkwardly, balling up a napkin and pelting it at Stiles and Allison. “Can you two stop, for the love of god, I’m gonna be fucking hearing the smacking noises in my nightmares for weeks.”

Allison pulled away from Stiles long enough to narrow her eyes, grab a biscotti and chuck it at Jackson’s head. “You’re not our boss.”

“I only have ten minutes before I have to go back to work.” Stiles protested. “And then another two hours of wrapping presents for senior citizens.” 

“Do you want all of us to follow you back and make you wrap everything five times, apiece?” Lydia murmured. “Because we can.” 

“No, I’ll deal with the little old ladies.” Stiles blurted. “But as soon as my shift is over, I’m going to Azeroth and I’m taking Scott with me.” 

Lydia looked over at Scott. “Translate?” 

Scott snorted out a laugh. “For his Christmas present, Stiles wants me to start playing World of Warcraft again with him, and I agreed.”

Jackson snickered quietly. “So Stilinski nerding out hasn’t changed, then.”

Allison’s lips curled up into a smirk, and she wiggled back against Stiles. “If he’s a nerd, then I _really_ like nerds.” She murmured, lowering her head to kiss him again.

Stiles made a contented noise as he kissed back, one hand moving lower to slide his fingertips under the waistband of her jeans. 

“They’ve been doing this nonstop, at least as long as I’ve known her.” Liam commented. “Well, that and quoting movies at each other and talking about Paris in accents that I think are supposed to be French.” 

Allison’s head jerked up and away from Stiles, looking affronted. “ _Excusez-moi? Du tout français je me exprime, en langue anglaise ou non, est authentique français, merci beaucoup!_ ” And she stuck her tongue out at the younger boy, a teasing grin on her face.

“Are you saying something dirty?” Stiles smiled as he looked at Allison. “Did you just proposition this kid?” 

Allison looked down at Stiles, raising her eyebrows. “Yeah, because I would absolutely do that while I’m sitting on you.” She snorted, and wrapped her arms around his neck, smacking a kiss against the side of his head.

Jackson stared at Liam for a long moment, squinting. “... Why do you look familiar? Have we met before?”

Liam shook his head. “I know you used to play lacrosse for our school, but I didn’t even start going there until after you moved.” 

“Huh.” Jackson tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at Liam. “What’s your name?”

“Liam Dunbar.” Liam looked around at the rest of the pack members, trying to figure out if he was being set up for a weird joke. “Why?” 

“No reason… But I was probably going to freak if your name was Maxon or something.” Jackson admitted, shrugging.

Derek sighed and put his hand over his eyes.

Liam frowned. “Um, my best friend’s name is Mason.” He murmured. 

Lydia laughed and put her hand over her mouth, snorting when Stiles decided to complete the image and put his hands over his ears. She shook her head at him and mouthed ‘idiot,’ then turned toward Liam. “Jackson’s just saying that you’re like him, that’s all.” 

“The hell I am,” Jackson snorted. “I’m sayin’, it’s fuckin’ weird enough that Derek’s family had rhyming names, I don’t want it extending to me. Plus, he’s nothing like me at all. Has he made captain yet?” He asked, looking smug.

Scott smirked, rolling his eyes. “No, but that’s because _I’m_ still captain, idiot.”

“He almost did.” Stiles admitted, giving Scott an apologetic look. “But he had anger control issues. I’m starting to see the resemblance.” 

Jackson faltered. “I don’t have anger issues.”

“Rage turned you into a giant lizard monster. It was like you were the Hulk and… Lizard. Except more Lizard.” Scott told Jackson.

“Don’t mention that again!” Jackson snapped.

“Case in point.” Scott mumbled, ducking his head against his neck like a turtle.

“Scott…” Allison sighed, shaking her head.

Stiles whimpered and pulled Allison close for another kiss, lifting her as he stood up. “I have to go.” 

Allison kissed him back eagerly, hanging onto him as he lifted her and whining as she finally started to pull away. She pouted at him and sighed sadly. “Okay.”

Isaac laughed. “Look who finally became a man.” He remarked, looking up at Stiles. 

“Fuck you, Isaac.” Stiles muttered. “Actually, you know what? No, I’m taking that back.” He looked around at the other pack members, then gave Allison an apologetic smile. “At any point, any one of you _assholes_ could have had this, but no. And now it’s too late. Except Isaac, I’d never date a dude that wears scarves in summer.” He waved his middle finger at Isaac and smiled, leaned in to kiss Allison once more, then walked away. 

Allison watched him go, eyes wide, then ducked her head, looking halfway stuck between embarrassed and proud. The grin tugging at the corner of her mouth had her leaning more toward proud, and she gave Isaac a helpless shrug, mouthing, ‘Sorry,” at him.

Derek glanced at Scott, raising his eyebrows before looking back down at Lydia, propping his chin on her shoulder. “Well, that certainly went off the rails,” he murmured in Lydia’s ear, sighing.

Scott looked back at Derek and quirked a small, guilty smile and a shrug. “Um. Well, uh. Let’s… get back to… I don’t know, the loft? There’s room there for all of us, anyway.”

“I’m going to get everybody something to go.” Lydia murmured. “After that whole rant from Stiles, I think alcohol might be in order, but I can’t go get any of that on my own.” 

Derek snorted against her neck and straightened up, like he knew who the charge was going to fall to. “I’ll meet up with you later, in that case.” He told them, pressing a kiss to Lydia’s cheek.

Lydia smiled up at Derek. “See you.” She nodded. 

“I’ll order the pizzas.” Liam murmured, standing up. It had somehow become his job, over the past month, to do that for these impromptu pack meetings. “And a couple of extras, since we have more people.” 

Scott stood up as well, smiling at Liam. “I’ll come with you, dude.”

Liam smiled gratefully. “Thanks.” He nodded and started walking toward his car. 

Lydia looked over at Malia, then gestured for her to go with them. “Make sure they get something other than pizza. Salads would be nice, once in awhile. Or breadsticks.” 

Malia scoffed and laughed. “I’m on it. One of those pizza places you like going to has rib tips.” Her stomach growled loudly, and another growl, from her chest this time, followed. “I want them.” She streaked out the door after Liam, her hair flying behind her.

Scott turned to look at Isaac before he left, grinning at the other boy. “Want to come?” He asked.

Isaac grinned back and nodded. “Yeah, someone needs to initiate the new kid.” He got up and walked out of the coffee shop with Scott. 

Lydia glanced over at Allison, smiling hesitantly. She wanted to talk to Jackson privately, knowing that he would be willing to say things to her that he might not want to say with everyone else around. It had taken them a long time to get to that point, and a significant amount of time had passed since, but she was confident that she could get him back into that sort of routine. Minus the sex this time, but she didn’t miss it. She had Derek. 

Allison didn’t acknowledge (or wasn’t aware of) the look at first, and instead just beamed back at Lydia. It was Jackson clearing his throat and tapping steadily on the table that made her jolt back to herself and realize that she was intruding. “Oh. Oh! Sorry.” She blurted, then grinned sheepishly and stood up. “I’m just… I’m gonna go - do - shopping.” She nodded firmly, smacking Jackson on the back of the head when he smirked at her. “Shut up.” She darted out the door.

Lydia laughed and got her compact out, checking her lip gloss. “So, tell me about going to school overseas.” She began, glancing up at him as she closed the compact and dropped it back into her purse. “Did you learn how to play rugby?” 

Jackson snorted at her. “What do you think? I didn’t even get a chance to train myself to play lacrosse properly now that I’m…” He trailed off, shrugging, and blinked supernaturally blue eyes at her. “Of course I joined a rugby team. It was more of a test to see how pissed off I could get without turning than anything else.”

“I don’t know what Allison told you, but you’re not the only one that’s gone through changes since sophomore year.” Lydia murmured. “I have a really great party trick I can do, now. If that party is anywhere near a serial killer.” 

“That sounds kind of terrifying, Lyds.” Jackson replied, raising a single eyebrow. “Is - are you alright? How have you been?”

“Things are better than they were.” Lydia nodded. “I’m glad you and Isaac came back here. And Allison, too. Of course. I think the most surprising thing is that I’m dating Derek. It was unexpected.” 

“Yeah.” Jackson mumbled. “Kind of unexpected for me, too, I guess.” He scratched the back of his head. “How long have you, uh… you know. Been with him?”

“Not even a whole week, yet.” Lydia admitted. “But we both think this could be going somewhere interesting, assuming it’s not some kind of game. Not on his part or mine, we’ve just made ourselves aware of how strange it is that everything is happening almost too easily.”

Jackson was silent for a moment, thinking. “I can see how you might have been fucking for a week.” He started, not looking up at her. “But the relationship thing… I can’t really see you with him. Not, like… I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like you two would be the type to mesh, is all.”

“Believe me, you’re not the only one that feels that way.” Lydia smiled. “But he’s not the guy you think he is, or the guy I thought he was, and I’m not the same person I was last year, either.” 

Jackson eyed her up and down before leaning back. “Yeah.” He murmured. “I guess not.” He shook his head. “I don’t know about him, though. Can’t convince me he’s a good guy, Lyds. Whatever the reasons he did it… he still killed me.”

Lydia grimaced. She had forgotten. “Did you... never mind, you would have tried to call me if you were interested in this going anywhere.” She remarked. “But since that didn’t happen, you don’t get to judge me or evaluate who I’m dating. I’ve been with the wrong guy, in the time you were gone, and I promised myself I’d never do that again. That’s not what this is. Derek was scared when he did what he did. Peter, on the other hand... well, he’s locked up, now. I did miss you. I don’t now. You’ll see. Derek is different.” 

Jackson shrugged again and sighed. “Whatever you say, Lydia. The only thing I’ve seen so far is a former alpha hunching over you like you belong to him.” He sat up and reached for his cup, taking a sip.

“Well, I do.” Lydia smiled. “And he belongs to me.” She stared across the table at Jackson. “You’re trying to make me angry and make me break up with Derek.” She shook her head. “He’s been through enough, and if he wants to end the relationship, he’ll just have to do it himself.” 

Jackson shrugged a third time, an unrepentant look on his face. "Can you blame me for trying?" He asked.

"No." Lydia smiled. "And if you had come back here last week, you and I would be together now. Probably. But you didn't and we're not." 

Nodding slowly, Jackson peered down at his hands. “You know I still love you, right?” He asked softly. “Whether we’re together or not, now or in the future, I’m always going to.”

“I feel that way about you, too.” Lydia played with the strap of her purse, needing something to do to stay calm. She hadn’t expected the conversation to head in this direction. “I at least want to be your friend.” 

There was a soft, bitter laugh, and Jackson stared out of the window of the cafe. “I don’t think I’ve ever been friends with you before.” He said quietly. “I’m not entirely sure I know how.”

“Well, you probably don’t want me telling you to follow Scott’s example.” Lydia teased. “It’ll be like dating me, but without all of the arguing and me forcing you to watch The Notebook.” 

Jackson jerked backwards, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why do I feel like you’re going to make me watch it anyway?”

“Well, with that attitude...” Lydia laughed. “I still don’t want to see Hoosiers, though.” 

“How is it fair for you to force your romance movies on me, but you won’t sit still long enough to watch my sports movies?” Jackson whined.

“Because when I feel emotional, I want to make out. Or do more. But when I’m bored, I want to kick you.” Lydia murmured. “Why do you think you got so many bruises at your parents’ house when I had to come over for dinner?” 

Jackson blinked. “I thought it was just because you didn’t want to be at my house for dinner with my parents. It’s not like they’re sane or something. In fact, after the thing on the lacrosse field, they’re kind of convinced that they’re at least partly insane.”

“I bet that makes their therapist happy.” Lydia smiled. “I don’t want you to hate Derek or resent him, though. I just think it should be said.” 

“If I hate or resent Derek for anything, it’s not because of you.” Jackson told her gently. “It’s for hundreds of other things he did, or things his uncle did. Speaking of,” He sat up straight and peered at her. “What’s the deal with the psycho dick?”

“He’s locked up in Eichen House.” Lydia nodded. “It turns out that they have a special floor for the people with oddities in their DNA. Peter’s currently sharing a room with a man who drilled a hole in his head. For his third eye.” 

Jackson stared at her for a long moment, looking alarmed and like he was trying to figure out whether she was joking with him or not. A moment later, he shuddered. “I hate this fucking town.”

“Me too, but I’ll be here forever.” Lydia mumbled. “Except for college. I refuse to stay here for college.” 

Jackson frowned at her. “Why the hell would you want to leave for college, and then come _back_ here, Lydia?” He asked, stunned. “That’s - you always talked about getting the hell out of Beacon Hills. Why would you voluntarily stay here?”

“The pack needs me.” Lydia smiled faintly. “And I guess I need them, too. The idea of having to explain to people that don’t know me... ‘hey, so, I’m a banshee, don’t mind the times I’m going to wake up screaming,’ just doesn’t sound fun at all.” 

“Well… yeah, sure, if you want to think of it that way, I guess.” Jackson mumbled. “Still, though. If you’re staying for the pack, why don’t you just tell them that you want to pack up and leave and see who comes with you?”

“It might have been easy for you, but it’s not like that for them. There would be territory disputes, having to coordinate the entire pack and arrange our schedules so that we all have the same days or times off, and probably a dozen other things that I haven’t even stopped to consider.” 

Jackson grimaced. “Yeah, I guess that would - it’s not like I was actually part of a werewolf pack before I left. My parents just kind of uprooted me and barely gave me a chance to let you all know I was going. I couldn’t exactly warn my prep school in London, or any packs in the area. Paris was a little better, but still no packs willing to take me, or Curly in when he got there.”

“Curly?” Lydia blinked. “Oh. Isaac.” She laughed again. “Well, you know that the pack here is more than willing to take you in. But there’s another pack, too. If you wanted to talk to them.” 

Jackson looked confused. “There’s another pack here? Have they always been here? Where the hell did they come from?”

“Yes, and I don’t know.” Lydia bit her lip. “No, that’s not true, really. They’ve been here since the nineteen-forties.” 

“... I thought this was the Hales’ territory for twenty-thousand years, or whatever.” Jackson replied slowly, his brows furrowed.

“Do we need to have a study session about geology and how the Earth was formed and when?” Lydia shook her head at him. “I don’t know how long the Hales have been in this town, but I do know that it’s _their_ town. Derek can’t give me any answers because he didn’t care to learn, and Peter’s brain got drained by his creepy roommate’s all-seeing eye.” Lydia sighed and sipped her coffee, grimacing because it had gone cold. “I was given a vision of a battle being fought in the woods, where the Hales’ home was when we were kids, and the guys were dressed like miners.” 

“Miners?” Jackson asked slowly, frowning. “What was that, like, mid-eighteen hundreds? Couldn’t have been very much to mine later, I mean. Not in this area. I don’t remember ever hearing that Beacon Hills was a mining town.”

“Well, it was. Briefly.” Lydia waved the waitress over to ask for a refill. “Very briefly.” 

“Right.” Jackson shook his head when the waitress arrived, putting his hand over his cup to decline a refill. “Well. Other than all of _that _, what the hell’s been happening with you? Where, uh - where are you planning on for college?”__

__“I was thinking Stanford. I’ve also applied to MIT, but I think I’m better off staying closer to everyone. I don’t know, it’s sort of up in the air right now. I won’t know what I’m doing until March or April.” Lydia stirred her drink. “What about you?”_ _

__Jackson was silent for a moment, then smiled mirthlessly. “Would you be surprised if I said I was thinking about Yale? Or maybe Duke. Maybe Harvard.” He blew out a sigh. “Or maybe just UCLA.”_ _

__“Well, you can’t go to - old habits.” Lydia looked embarrassed. “You can go to Harvard if you want to, it’s not as though I can stop you. I don’t want to hear about the rivalry between Harvard and MIT, though.”_ _

__Jackson smirked. “If I did end up going to Harvard, I’d have to talk about it to _somebody_ ,” he told her in a sing-song voice. “Who else would I share it with, other than you?”_ _

__“The doctors.” Lydia said sweetly. “After I kick your ass.” She snorted. “I think it’s possible that I’ve spent too much time around Stiles. At least that’s bound to reverse itself.”_ _

__“Either that, or the universe will implode on itself.” Jackson shot back, reaching his foot out and kicking her foot lightly with a smirk._ _

__“I really hope not.” Lydia murmured. “I think you should be made aware of what’s been going on since Allison got back. First of all, she and Stiles started dating at some point between leaving Paris and arriving in Redding. Kira, who you never met, and you can consider yourself lucky, moved away about two days after Allison enrolled in school again. Stiles and Allison have a daughter, or will have one eventually. Malia is Derek’s cousin and possibly Allison’s half-sister. Things have been crazy around here.”_ _

__Jackson sputtered right about the time that Lydia mentioned Stiles and Allison’s daughter. “What the fuck kind of water is this town drinking?” He blurted. “Wait, Malia is Derek’s cousin? So she’s another Hale that was in the fire and escaped, or what?”_ _

__Lydia sighed, but smiled patiently. “Malia’s mom, supposedly, is Victoria Argent. We won’t know until the DNA results come back. She was put up for adoption and raised by the Tates, but her adoptive mom and sister died in a car accident. Not the one that your family was in, before you start getting suspicious. Malia shifted into a coyote and spent a few years in the woods before Scott and Stiles found her and got her to turn back into her human form. Mr. Tate is a cretin.”_ _

__“This place just gets weirder and weirder the more you come back to it.” Jackson shook his head with a sigh._ _

__“I think everything for the past month, if not longer, has been pushing us toward one another. The entire pack, and maybe even people around us.” Lydia took a long drink from her cup and set it back down, pressing her lips together and dabbing them with a napkin. “It’s not as though Greenberg became a kanima. That happened to you, and I was the one that had to bring you back from it. I don’t think anyone else could have done it. I think you had to do what you did, and I had to do what I did. That’s why I don’t blame Derek. I think we’re all just...” She sighed._ _

__“Incredibly fucked?” Jackson asked wryly, raising an eyebrow at her._ _

__“I suppose if you have to phrase it that way...” Lydia murmured, rolling her eyes and smiling fondly. “I would have said pawns or maybe that we’re being manipulated.”_ _

__The smile disappeared. "I don't like that. I already got jerked around and used without my knowledge, I don't like the idea that someone else has been pulling longer strings this entire time."_ _

__“I know.” Lydia nodded. “As soon as we figure out who thinks they’re our puppetmaster, I’m ready to kill him or her or it all by myself.” She moved around the table to sit closer to Jackson, hugging him. “I always played dumb around you and that wasn’t fair to you at all. I did some manipulating of my own, when it came to you. From now on, friends or otherwise? I won’t force you to watch movies you hate, I won’t act like I don’t know anything when I do, and I’m done berating people for living their lives the way they want, since I’m the one that knows when they’re about to die. I’m glad you’re back. I know you missed me, but I don’t know if it’s really me you missed, or the person I was pretending to be. I want to find out.” She smiled hesitantly. “I hope the answer is both.”_ _

__Jackson froze in her arms, then slowly leaned against her, wrapping his arms around her tightly and resting his chin gently on the top of her head. "I'm pretty sure it was you as a whole." He murmured, and breathed deeply, taking her scent in slowly. His hands spread out across her back, spanning her spine as he tugged her into his own arms. "I knew there were things you used to hide from me about yourself, but it's my fault for never calling you on it. We could've - maybe we could've lasted if I'd said something sooner instead of making such an ass out of myself that you had to dumb yourself down so I wouldn't feel inferior. I already knew you were too good for me - I shouldn't ever have tried to make you feel bad just because we both knew it."_ _

__"Don't belittle yourself." Lydia pulled away a little to look at Jackson. "You haven't had it as rough as you thought, in some regards. But you dealt with a lot, even before Derek bit you. Stiles hit you, that night when Peter was chasing us around the school. You could have hit back or told him one of a hundred things to make him break, and you didn't. You're stronger than you see yourself. I've always thought you were incredible, even when we weren't getting along. I think you need to believe it, too."_ _

__Jackson stared down at her for a long moment, then groaned softly, unable to help himself as he lowered his head to hers._ _

__“Okay.” Lydia pulled further back, letting go of her hold on him. “I’m going to talk about Derek now.” She pushed a lock of hair away from her face, agitated because she was starting to get too comfortable in her ex-boyfriend’s arms and she didn’t want to hurt Derek, no matter what else happened. “We’re going to Ireland after graduation.”_ _

__Jackson cleared his throat and jerked backwards, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah?” He asked, coughing softly and looking awkward as he attempted to pretend that he _hadn’t_ just tried to kiss Lydia, and that she _hadn’t_ just shot him down like he was a plane and she was the missile. “That, uh. That sounds pretty cool.”_ _

__“Jackson, I’m not going to cheat on him.” Lydia whispered, frowning. “I know you hate him and think everything is weird, but he’s a great guy. He’s actually kind of scared of me, I think. I don’t want to give him reasons to be right for that.”_ _

__“It’s fine, Lyds, I get it. You don’t want to be a cheater.” He folded his arms defensively against his chest and took a deep breath. “So answer me one question.” He was quiet for a moment before looking steadily at her. “Do you still care about me enough that you’d be willing to give me another chance? If Derek was out of the picture, if you weren’t planning to visit another country with him, if you broke up… Would you try again? With me?”_ _

__“If all of those things happened, I guess I would.” Lydia sighed, feeling helpless. “But the fact that I feel guilty for even answering this question should tell you what I’m thinking and how I feel about Derek.”_ _

__Jackson swallowed, looking down at his feet. “You’re falling for him.” He said softly. There was another moment of silence, and then Jackson took a deep breath before blowing it out. “I’m going to… I’m going to go.” He told her quietly. “Not, like, away or anything, but… I still have unpacking left to do, and Derek probably isn’t going to be cool with me hanging around the loft once he catches my scent all over you.”_ _

__Lydia pressed her lips together and nodded, refusing to let herself ask him to stay and talk. She needed to go find Derek and forget the past few minutes. She stood up, picking up her purse from the table. “I’ll see you later.”_ _

__Jackson nodded back. “I’ll see you later, Lydia.” He replied, and grabbed his coffee before he turned to leave the cafe without another word._ _

__Lydia set money on the table as she waited a few more minutes, wanting Jackson to be gone before she left. She didn’t want to bump into him outside. She got her phone out of her purse and sent Derek a text. ‘I’m on my way.’_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like a little angsty goodness, right?


	16. Live While You Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Our dads might kill us, but that’s never stopped me before. Or you, for that matter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title is from a line in Ordinary Day by Vanessa Carlton.

_December 26, 2012  
8:23 am_

Every day in December, including making up for the first two days he missed, Stiles had given Allison a gift. Sometimes it was as simple as candy, sometimes he got her a scarf, hat and gloves. For a few days in a row, she had received different flavors of coffee that he knew she liked, to go along with a coffee mug he got her a week before. But today was their one month anniversary and he wanted to get her something extraordinary. He was a little terrified that he had fallen short of that goal. 

Allison yawned softly as she turned over in bed, her hands stretching out to reach for Stiles while her eyes were still closed. She blinked her eyes open a moment later, her eyes darting around until they caught sight of him. She smiled and sat up, wrapping the comforter around her bare torso. “Happy day-after-Christmas.” She murmured, and then grinned. “And happy month anniversary. And good morning.”

Stiles smiled back. “Good morning.” He set a wrapped gift box down on the bed. “This is the last one I’m doing this year. I don’t mind wrapping presents for other people, but I think my hands are actually chapped.” 

Allison couldn’t help laughing, reaching out for his hands instead of the gift and tugging him toward her. “I’m going to get you some lotion. And not for the usual reason you get lotion.” She teased, lifting her head for a kiss. “Thank you.”

“Hey, I haven’t used that in a month.” Stiles protested, then grinned. “You’re welcome.” He sat down beside her. “Open it. Open it.” 

“I’m opening it, I’m opening it,” Allison shot back at him, grinning. She curled against his side, grabbing the present and pulling it into her lap before she slowly unwrapped it, her expression curious. Pulling it free from the wrapping paper, she studied the outside of the album for a moment before opening it and turning to the first page. Her breath caught in her throat, and she let out a surprised laugh at the first picture she saw of Stiles, herself and Chloe together. “Oh, my god.” She murmured softly. “Stiles, this - I love this. Where did you get all of these pictures?”

“Everyone has been taking pictures of the three of us.” Stiles explained. “And I got a few myself, of you with Chloe. I thought it would be nice for us to have.” He leaned toward Allison to kiss her. “But I have a lot of them on my phone, and you can keep that at your apartment until... well, I’m getting _way_ ahead of myself, but I expect to be able to see that on our bookshelf, one of these days.” 

Allison turned toward him fully, letting go of the album long enough to cup his cheek with one hand. She kissed him softly, the fingers of her other hand clutching the book tightly. “If I have it my way, we’re going to have a lot more of these on that bookshelf.”

“Damn.” Stiles pushed the photo album aside, turning more toward Allison as he moved over her, laughing a little. “My dad is probably going to come up here and start yelling at me through the door in a minute, but I don’t know if I care. I think I’d rather just spend all day in bed with you. And not necessarily... you know.” 

Allison giggled, winding one arm around the back of his neck and smiling up at him as she laid back. “I know.” She lifted her head up to kiss him again. “Lucky your dad likes me and would do the freak out thing if he came in here right now. At least he knocks.”

“And that’s why we don’t go to your house.” Stiles had made a really undignified shrieking sound when Chris walked in on them. He was still mortified. 

Allison cooed at him. “Aww, but you sounded so cute when you screamed.” She told him affectionately, rubbing her hand over his chest. She sat up suddenly. “Oh! I have a present for you, too.” She told him, grinning, and then bent over his lap as she crawled toward the edge of the bed, hanging upside down so that she could look under the mattress.

“Oh god.” Stiles tilted his head back and gripped the sheet underneath him, determined not to grab Allison and get himself and her into trouble. He really didn’t need to be grounded for groping his girlfriend instead of making sure their daughter wasn’t destroying the living room with the art set Lydia had given her. He had put it up where Chloe couldn’t reach it, after she went to bed, but he remembered the things he used to do (and still did) to get what he wanted. 

Allison let out a knowing laugh and straightened back up, a large blue box in her hands as she pressed herself back against Stiles’ side. “My ass was not the present, honey.” She told him, and placed the box in his hands.

“But it _is_ a gift.” Stiles remarked, grinning. “Okay, I’m done acting like an idiot. For the next hour, at least. I can only promise that much.” He opened the box peering down into it before he reached in and pulled out a green construction paper heart. 

Allison rested her head gently against his shoulder, her eyes on the paper, and she read it out loud for him. “‘I love your laugh.’”

Stiles looked back down at the paper, smiling faintly as he reached into the box to pull another heart-shaped paper from it. “Thank you.” 

Allison smiled back, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “You’re welcome. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Stiles grinned as he sifted a hand through the rest of the papers in the box. Without having to count them, somehow he knew that he would find twenty-four still there, along with the two he had already removed. He could practically feel himself falling more in love with Allison. 

Allison remained curled against Stiles' side, her head tucked against the crook of his neck with the blanket wrapped around them both, and she flipped idly, but reverently, through the remaining pages of the photo album, her eyes darting to Stiles' expression in each one that contained him, and her heart felt filled to bursting. She'd meant what she'd said to him - with every fiber of her being, she desperately wanted more of this, more pictures of family, more photos of her pack, more proof of her love for Stiles and his love for her, and especially more children - little boys with her eyes and Stiles' smirk and chin, little girls with Stiles' eyes and her lips and nose and dimples. She wanted it so badly she could feel herself aching from it.

"Why do you look sad?" Stiles asked quietly. "Did the present from me suck? I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to have everything... I mean, my mom didn't like pictures. She said they made her feel like she was losing even more of her mind when she tried to look through our albums. But I wanted a real, tangible start for you and me."

Allison hadn’t been aware that the desperation and longing had been making her look upset, and she looked up at Stiles, stricken. She turned toward him properly, and wrapped her arms firmly around him, pressing her lips to the pulse of his throat. “It didn’t suck. Nothing you could ever give me would suck, Stiles.” She looked down at the album and sighed. “I just want it so much. I want everything with you, and I want it now, and I know it makes me sound like Veruca Salt - maybe it really makes me a spoiled brat, I don’t know. I just… I know we aren’t even out of high school yet, and we haven’t even been together for that long, but it feels like we _have_ been together that long, and I want to…” She trailed off, pressing her lips together nervously before taking a deep breath and saying, “Everything we have in the future… I want to start now.”

Stiles nodded. “Me too.” He felt a little nervous about having said it out loud, even though they were agreeing on it. “Our dads might kill us, but that’s never stopped me before. Or you, for that matter. We’ve only got one more semester of high school and then we can do whatever we want, anyway. There’s no reason for us to wait.” 

Allison gulped softly and slowly let go of Stiles to lay back on the bed. “I look at you. And I look at Chloe… And I really don’t care what my dad thinks.” She grimaced. “I care a little about what _your_ dad thinks because I don’t want him to think that I’m corrupting you or something, but my dad once had his hunter friends tie him up to make me think that we were both under attack as a training technique, and I haven’t looked at him the same since then, so I’m not particularly… Anyway. I want this. I’m in love with you, and I want - _everything_ with you.”

Stiles smiled and laid down on his stomach beside Allison, kissing her. “I think time is different for us. I mean, we’ve had a lot of near-death experiences, so it makes sense for us to want to hold on to what we have and maybe... maybe we’re rushing a little, but I want this. I want everything with you, too. I don’t even know how we’re going to send Chloe back. I haven’t even given it thought, I’ve been too busy just watching cartoons with her and listening to anything she wants to talk about. The idea of having to wait until we’re done with college before we get to hold her and change her diapers and everything - I know it sounds crazy, but I want all of that. I want to freak out when she sneezes for the first time and I want to show everyone in town what she looks like on the ultrasound pictures, even though nobody can ever even figure those out.” 

Allison burst out laughing, smiling up at him in delight. “I don’t think the babies ever want them to be figured out, and that’s why they all look so blurry and odd. But, oh, god, Stiles, me too.” She nodded eagerly. “I can take college classes online or something, I don’t even care. I’m not opposed to the idea of having to do that before I actually go to college, not if it means we get Chloe out of it. I don’t care what anyone else says.” She surged up to kiss him, holding him tightly against her.

Stiles moved over Allison, pushing her legs apart with one of his knees before he settled between her thighs, grinding against her as he started kissing her neck. He knew that their quiet morning together was going to end soon, once either Chloe or his dad, or both of them, got tired of waiting for the two of them to come downstairs. He wasn’t going to let himself think too much about that while Allison was naked underneath him, though. 

Allison moved her hands to Stiles’ shoulders, tilting her head back as he kissed her neck, and moved one of her legs so that it curved around the back of Stiles’ leg. Her hips tilted up encouragingly, even as she kept listening for noises outside the door. A dazed smile appeared on her face as they moved together silently.

***  
 _1:15 pm_

Lydia sat down on Derek’s couch and turned up the music on her laptop, trying to drown out the negative thoughts in her head about the near-kiss between herself and Jackson. She hated that she had given him the idea that she was still interested in him, no matter how true it was. 

Derek leaned over the back of the couch from above Lydia, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You’re awfully quiet.” He mentioned simply, tilting his head.

“Sorry.” Lydia mumbled. “I guess I’m just having some sort of mean reds today.” 

Derek reached up to run a gentle hand over the top of her head, stroking back her hair. “Mean reds?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah.” Lydia looked embarrassed. “It’s this thing from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The movie. I have to admit that I’ve never even read the book, but it’s by Truman Capote and I have always thought he was horrible to other authors.” 

Derek laughed quietly and jumped over the back of the couch to settle beside Lydia properly. “Well, you aren’t really alone in that thought.” He told her, smiling lightly. “But what’s on your mind that’s got you, uh, having these ‘mean reds’?”

“Well, I’m still sensing death, constantly. But it’s become a sort of strobe light effect, in my head. I see Allison dying a hundred different ways. Sometimes with Stiles, sometimes with Scott. Not just the three of them, either. But they’re the most common. I think it goes back to the way they sacrificed themselves to the nemeton. I keep thinking about what would change if I left, instead of staying close by. Or if I could prevent anything if we didn’t go to Ireland. If, if, if. I’m so tired of these thoughts.” Lydia turned her head to look at Derek. “It’s all about what I’m doing and what I’m not doing.” 

Derek watched her, his eyes gentle. After a moment, he reached for her hand, taking it in his and folding his other hand over it. “Sit back against the couch, and take deep, slow breaths. I want you to be able to relax. Think of what makes you relax, Lydia. What, or who, makes you so comfortable that your head doesn’t feel like it’s being dragged in fifty different directions with ifs and ands and buts?”

Lydia closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly, feeling the way Derek’s fingers curved around her own. She made a contented noise and relaxed, picturing what the summer after graduation could be like for the two of them. She wanted to know what he would be like in another year, or three. “Okay.” She whispered. 

“Okay?” Derek pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand, and pulled her gently into his arms for a hug, resting his head on top of hers and sitting quietly for a moment. 

“I really like you.” Lydia admitted. “I don’t normally say that. The closest anyone ever got to hearing that from me was Allison, when I told her she was my new best friend.” She smiled faintly, remembering that day. “I hide behind a lot of things and wait for the person I’m with to screw up. I really want to be different with you.” 

Derek rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “I really like you, too.” He murmured. “And I really think things could be different with us than I’ve had in the past. I trust you more, for one thing.”

“I want you to keep trusting me.” Lydia said quickly, sitting up and turning toward Derek. She smoothed her skirt over her thighs and looked up at him again. “Jackson asked me a few days ago if I would be with him, if you and I weren’t together. And I said it was possible, but that I _am_ with you and I don’t want to break up with you for a possibility. I know I should have probably told you sooner, but I didn’t think it was important. I just think now... well, now it is.” 

Derek let go of her, but only to turn and face her, to give her the same undivided attention she was giving him. “It’s important now?” He asked softly. “I do trust you. I’m going to keep trusting you unless there’s something you want to tell me, or there’s something that tells me I shouldn’t. Jackson still being crazy about you… that isn’t a surprise to me. He was practically shoving his pheromones under all of our noses the second he saw you. I didn’t think that his feelings for you would suddenly have vanished.” He paused, and then tilted his head, watching her carefully as his hand reached out to take hers once again. “I think it’s fair to let you know that unless you give me a reason to, I have no intention of letting you go. I’m a possessive bastard, Lydia. I take care of what and who is mine, and I have absolutely no thoughts of giving you up to Jackson.”

Lydia smiled. She knew the things he was saying, coming from any other guy, would have her ready to spit venom and make him fear the removal of his testicles. But Derek had been through so much, and the fact that he wanted to keep her around instead of telling her to go was a big deal. “I’m not interested in what might be, I’m interested in what _is_.” 

Derek furrowed his brow deeply, pulling her against his side. “Right now, what _is_ , is us. You and I. I know there’s probably some people who will look at the two of us and say that we don’t make any sense, but I don’t care. You make sense to me. You’re my right now, my present, and I feel for Jackson, I really do, but to me, the Jackson and Lydia dynasty is the past. It has no business here, between us.”

“You make sense to me, too.” Lydia lifted her head to kiss Derek. “I don’t know where I’m going to college yet, but I want you to come with me if it’s on the other side of the country. We’ll work out details later, regarding sharing an apartment, or each of us getting our own. I’m not focusing on that right now. I just want to sit here with you.” 

Derek kissed his back softly, his arm winding around her waist and settling on her back gently. “I’m okay with just sitting here with you.” He nodded. “And even if your college is in England, I’d follow you there, too.”

“I did think of applying to Oxford.” Lydia smiled. “But I’d rather stay closer to the pack. Even if it’s the other side of the country.” 

“Easier to pick up flights home from the other side of the country.” Derek agreed, chuckling, and held Lydia against his chest.

“I’m going to ask you something now that sounds a little needy.” Lydia rubbed Derek’s forearm. “Why choose me instead of someone else? I’m not going to insult you by saying you’re attractive, like that’s your only redeeming quality. It’s not. But there are women closer in age to you that you might have more in common with. So why choose me?” 

Derek pressed his hand over hers, winding his fingers through her fingers and raising her hand to his lips. “My experiences have made me… different than most men my age.” He sighed. “Sometimes, I still feel like I’m that fifteen year old from after the fire, and it’s hard for me to try and leave that state of mind. I’m not saying that I chose you because I have a teenager trying to live vicariously in the back of my mind. But you’re more than familiar with the darker side of the supernatural, and it’s something I don’t have to explain to you. You’re intelligent to the point of super genius, which means that I can bounce ideas off of you, and you’ll actually respond to me,” he laughed lightly. “And you’re loyal. Trust and loyalty are big things to me, and you’ve got both - my trust and my loyalty - in spades. It’s gotten easier for me to trust in the last year or so, but it’s still difficult sometimes, and you understand that. You make it easier.” He shook his head. “So maybe I have more in common with women my age, but it doesn’t mean they have anything in common with me, or that they understand me, or have patience with me and my issues. You do.”

Lydia nodded in agreement. “I do.” She smiled. “Since I asked you, and you probably won’t ask me, I’m just going to say it. I’m choosing to be with you, not just because I think we’re good together and could even be great together, but also because I’ve already seen you become different over the past couple of weeks, and I want to know what other surprises you’ll have for me. I like that you’re smiling more now.” 

Said smile crossed Derek’s face unbidden, and he leaned forward to press it to Lydia’s lips. “Hopefully I’ll have quite a few more. And I like that I’m smiling more, too. For a while, it was hard to find _anything_ to smile about at all.” He stared at her for a long moment, and then gathered her properly against him, all but hauling Lydia into his lap in his desire to be closer to her, and kissed her deeply. “I know we’re both worried about what… this is between us, what it means in the long run, but honestly…” He pulled back to look at her. “I’m starting not to care about what it means. I care more about you.”

“Even if it turns out to be someone manipulating us?” Lydia asked quietly, shuddering. “I don’t want to give up on you, either. But I know that you would have every right to run in the other direction.” 

Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, soothing the goosebumps he could feel, Derek sighed. “I’ve done a lot of running, Lydia. I think I’m going to stay put this time around. Whatever comes, I’ll meet it head-on. But I’m not dropping you, not for one instant.”

“The best decision I’ve made in a while was showing up here in my underwear.” Lydia giggled. “I might have to do that again, one day.” 

Derek grinned. “You are _not_ going to hear me complain.”

“No?” Lydia teased, sitting up and reaching behind her to unfasten her bra. 

Derek leaned forward, pressing his lips to her throat. “Definitely not,” he murmured, and slid a hand up her belly to cup one of her breasts as it spilled out of the bra cup. He thumbed her nipple and squeezed his hand around her gently. “I have no complaints about anything in regards to you.”

“I’ll have one about you if you don’t take me upstairs.” Lydia smiled. 

Derek grinned fiercely, surging up to his feet in one move, Lydia’s body lifting up into his arms in a bridal carry. “I’m on it.” He moved toward the stairs, taking them five at a time until he was on the upstairs landing and heading to his bedroom, Lydia still clutched in his grip.

***

_3:30 pm_

Stiles kept glancing over at Allison and grinning, unable to help himself. He was getting impatient, wishing it was time for Chloe to take a nap so that he could have his girlfriend all to himself again and work a little harder on trying to get her pregnant. 

Allison didn’t look back at Stiles, but her mouth twitched and her face flushed, a grin appearing when she sensed Stiles’ eyes on her. She reached under the table and wrapped her fingers around his hand. She was still revved from earlier, from the feeling that being with Stiles gave her every time they slept together, and from the thrill that starting to create a family with him was giving her.

“Chloe, do you want to take a nap early today?” Stiles blurted, almost certain that his face was turning red from the embarrassment of how loudly he had asked her. 

Chloe looked up at Stiles, her gaze suspicious. “Nuh uh.” 

Allison clapped a hand over her mouth, lowering her head to giggle helplessly. “It’s okay, Chloe. What do you want to do today?”

“Um, I wanna go for a walk.” Chloe looked nervous. “Please can I?” 

Stiles frowned and leaned forward, eyeing his daughter. “What’s wrong?” He looked over at Allison, a feeling of dread building in his stomach as he glanced back at Chloe. “Do you have to leave?” 

Allison swallowed. “Chloe, honey?” She shifted away from Stiles for a moment, reaching for the little girl to hold her. “Are you - Are you okay? Is something about to happen?”

Chloe looked up at Allison with sorrowful eyes. “I’m really sorry.” 

Stiles gulped, twisting around in his seat when the phone rang. He forced himself to get up and cross the room to answer it, knowing that a panic attack in front of their daughter would only make things worse for everyone, and he didn’t have time to lose his grip on the situation. He could panic later. “He- hello?” 

“Stiles? It’s Melissa. We have the results of your DNA test. I already called Malia and she’s on her way. I figured Allison was with you, so I’d just make one more phone call and get the three of you at once. Can you come in now?” 

“Sure.” Stiles nodded, then made a face at himself. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

Allison was still staring at Chloe in concern, trying to keep herself calm. She looked up at Stiles once he hung up. “Where are we going?” She asked hesitantly.

“Melissa has the results.” Stiles took a deep breath. He eyed Chloe for a moment. “How bad is this going to be?” 

The little girl stared back at him, then turned and got her coat, not saying a word in response. 

Allison’s shoulders slumped and she shut her eyes even as she stood up to put her own coat on. “That’s not a good sign.” She mumbled.

Stiles walked over to Allison and gripped her hand as he looked at Chloe again. “Who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't we brats, leaving it there? 
> 
> If you leave a comment and guess correctly about who Chloe is, we'll write you something (set in this 'verse) as a thank you for reading and responding. Our next update won't be until the 26th or 27th. Happy holidays!


	17. Who Are You, Really?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How do we protect you?” Stiles took a deep breath. “I’m still pissed off at all three of you and I kind of think you’re assholes for not telling us the truth right away, but I can’t say I’ve never lied to protect people, either.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obvious chapter title is obvious.

_**December 10, 2012** _

_Clotho put her arms around Stiles and rested her cheek on one of his shoulders. “Thank you for the present.” A lot of people didn’t bother giving offerings to her and her sisters anymore, and she knew that the teen she was embracing hadn’t intended the sticker sheet as such, but she also knew that the stickers had never been intended solely for her, either. “What do you want for Christmas?” She pulled back and studied him._

_“I want everyone to be happy, too.” Stiles murmured, smiling faintly at her before he stood up. “Have a good Christmas, okay?”_

_“I always do.” Clotho grinned. She turned and skipped back toward the exit, careful to follow a couple of adults outside because she knew Stiles was still mindful of her as she left. She didn’t have any parents close by and hadn’t needed them in centuries. She had a few other people she wanted to visit while she was in town, but she was still trying to figure out the best way to approach them. She had once made the mistake of going to a local police station to see someone, and the end result was being stuck in foster care until she was able to escape. Atropos still mocked her for it. Thinking of that and knowing what she wanted to do, she went back into the building and climbed up onto one of the display counters, in front of a window, to sit and watch everyone._

_Stiles wrapped one gift after another, glancing up every few minutes to check on her, until it was time to close up for the night. "Where are the people who take care of you? I saw you leave earlier."_

_"I'm by myself." Clotho yawned. She knew it was too late now for someone else to take her in for the night, and she would have to stay with the Stilinskis or at some other pack member's home, but she had expected as much._

***

_December 26, 2012  
3:50 pm_

Stiles kept a careful eye on the little girl sitting near him. He doubted that she wanted to kill him or Allison, since she would have been able to do so at any point in the past two weeks, but hadn’t. She still refused to answer his questions, and he felt sick to his stomach for being so willing to believe that she was his daughter. It had been without any real proof, other than a few words from Lydia. He wished he hadn’t been so quick to trust his friend now, but there had been nothing to indicate that a four year old human girl, or whatever she really was, intended to hurt him in any way. “Who are you?” He found himself asking again, clasping his hands together as he leaned forward, twisting to the side to face her. 

“She’s my sister.” Astrid moved through the waiting room, sitting on Chloe’s other side. 

“Okay, so you’re our...” Stiles grimaced, preventing himself from asking if he and Allison had two daughters. “You’re our _nothing_. Neither of you are actually anything to us, are you?” 

“I wouldn’t say that.” Astrid shook her head. “You’re more important to us than you’d even begin to realize.” 

Allison was quiet and withdrawn, almost resigned, like she’d known her happiness was too good to be true, and she drew the back of one arm over her eyes, staring dully at it when it came away wet. She hadn’t even realized she’d been crying. “So we’re important. Why?” She mumbled, unable to bring herself to look up at the little girl and the young woman who’d been so kind to her. “Was it a game?” She shook her head, feeling more upset with each passing minute, and finally exhaled explosively, raising her eyes to the pair. “Who _are_ you?!” She echoed Stiles.

“We are the Moirae. The Romans know us as the Parcae, or the Fatae. You may actually know us as the Spinners.” Lacey Decima came into the room and sat between the other two, running her hand lightly over the tops of her sisters’ heads fondly. “There is one simple word for who we are, but many ways in which we are known by it.”

Allison shook her head. “I - just tell us, please. Tell us why Chloe let us think that she…” Her voice shook, and she unconsciously flung her hand out to grip Stiles’ hand. “Just tell us.”

Lacey lifted her chin, looking calm, kind but suddenly powerful. “I sing of the things that are.” Her hand passed over Chloe’s head. “She sings of the things that were.” She lifted her hand to Astrid and caressed her cheek gently. “She sings of the things that have yet to pass. Together, we decide the direction of an individual’s life, from beginning to end.”

“She loves being dramatic.” Chloe slid down from the seat. “Excuse me.” Within seconds, she had shapeshifted from a tiny girl to an older woman. She sat back down. “My name is Clotho. I decide when someone is born. Lachesis determines the events in their life that will shape them as a person, and Atropos is responsible for their death.” 

Stiles leaned closer to Allison and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “That explains why Lydia was having trouble with you.” He scowled at Atropos. “What do you want with us? Why lie? Where are Melissa and Malia?” 

“Melissa is dealing with other patients who just came in.” Atropos murmured. “We needed to delay her to have this conversation, but nobody is in mortal peril.” 

“And Malia?” Allison snapped. “Did you decide she was in the way for now? Did you turn her into a coyote and toss her into the preserve?”

Lachesis, formerly Lacey, looked stricken. “We wouldn’t do that.” She said steadily. “We are the Fates. We determine the path of a person’s life; we don’t cast petty tricks, and nothing we do is without absolute necessity. We mean you absolutely no harm.”

Allison’s gaze didn’t waver from Lachesis, refusing to look in the direction of either Clotho or Atropos. “Yeah. You’ve done a fantastic job of that so far.”

“So you guys had a nice con going.” Stiles added. “Why stop now and tell us who you are? You know us so well, you had to know we’d be pissed off.” 

Clotho nodded sadly. “It wasn’t meant to be a game with you. We wanted to see how you were doing up close and help things along, if it became necessary. We’ve been aware of you for some time, all of you, and we have a special fondness in our hearts for this place.” 

Allison looked away from them, dropping her head into the crook of Stiles’ neck, sniffling softly. She let out a soft, shuddering breath. “I don’t think any of that is making me feel any better.” She mumbled.

Lachesis sighed. “I’m sorry. We all are, for any pain we have caused you. It is because you are so young, and your lives have been fraught with so much difficulty that we sought to do this; to give back to you what you deserve.”

“So one of you took on a disguise that made her my boyfriend’s miniature, and then never corrected us when we assumed she was our child.” Allison muttered.

Clotho looked embarrassed. “I didn’t correct any of you because I thought I might grant you a child, if you seemed so inclined. You both showed me such kindness. All of your pack did. I do enjoy the innocence of children and the way that anyone at a later stage in life can be respectful of the knowledge that they possess. When a child is born, their entire life is stretched out before them, and there are so many possibilities. A child borne of the two of you would have no other path than a great one.” 

Allison rubbed at her eyes again, looking defeated. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to even say.” She whispered, and squeezed her eyes shut as she started to cry.

“I can think of a few things.” Lydia spoke up from the doorway of the small room. “You have no right to do this to anyone here, or anywhere. You can leave or we can kill you, those are the only possibilities I’m giving you.” 

Lachesis stood, frowning at Lydia. “We really did not mean any harm.” She sighed finally. “We only wanted…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Sisters, we’ve outstayed our welcome.”

“Yeah, you should go.” Stiles snapped. “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.” 

Clotho turned toward Stiles and Allison. “We really didn’t want to cause problems. We’re sorry.” 

“You might not be yet, but you will be.” A nurse smiled cruelly as she pushed Lydia aside and walked into the room. 

Lydia took a deep breath and motioned for Stiles and Allison to get up and come with her, but two more women blocked the doorway. 

“You think we haven’t been watching you three?” Alecto shook her head. “You really need to be more aware of your surroundings. We’ll deal with you as we see fit.” 

Despite his anger and resentment, Stiles couldn’t help interrupting. “Who are _you_ and what the hell kind of war did we walk into? What are you doing to Chloe - Clotho and the others?” 

“We’re the Furies. The Fates might control a person’s life events, but we deal with them when they make the wrong decisions. In this case, they’re the guilty ones. You’d do well to stand aside and let us handle this.” Alecto sneered at Stiles. 

Allison shivered, but stood up slowly. “And what exactly do you think you’re going to do to us if we don’t?” She snapped back, her eyes flinty.

“Well, you’re not even supposed to be alive.” Alecto remarked, smirking. “What do you think we should do about that, hmm?” 

Allison’s sneer faded, and she stared at the other woman, stunned. “What?”

Lydia’s scream erupted from her throat, loud enough to shake the glass in the window on one side of the room. 

Allison winced and dropped to the ground, her hands covering her ears.

Stiles shielded Allison, watching as the Furies ran from the room. 

Lydia immediately stopped screaming and rubbed her throat. “One of you owes me tea for this. We’re going to Derek’s and discussing things. All of it, from start to finish.”

***

“Beacon Hills was supposed to be a safe haven for a select group of gods and people that were worshipped as gods, as well as their followers.” Clotho began, glancing around at the pack members surrounding her. “There were eleven of us, in the beginning. That’s why we were overjoyed when, given the option of a jersey number, Scott chose number eleven. We thought it was telling of things to come. We don’t control a person’s every life choice, we only present them with decisions and let them forge their own path. But we fight just as much as the typical humans do, if not more so, since we know we won’t ever die.” Clotho gave Lydia a pointed look, then continued. “I believe you’re all by now familiar with the story of the vengeful uncle, determined to make his nephew’s beloved suffer for attempting to murder that nephew of his. In your case, those people would be Peter, Derek and Kate. We had our own, very similar situation, involving Gwydion and Blodeuwedd. He created her out of an oak tree and flowers. I know that sounds strange to you, but the boy’s mother cursed him and swore that he would never find love with any woman from a race that already walked the Earth. Gwydion saw fit to give his nephew a companion. Still, when Blodeuwedd tried to have her husband murdered, Gwydion’s punishment for her was to never again let her out of his sight. Forty-five years after they came to this town, Gwydion grew tired of the woman’s constant complaints and he turned her back into a tree, right in the middle of the woods.” 

“The nemeton.” Lydia murmured. “And she’s been there this whole time, even after someone attacked her with an axe.” She shuddered. “Can we fix her?” 

“Would you want to?” Stiles countered, holding his hands up in defense when Lydia glared at him. “Okay, I know, she was treated badly by men and only existed to be someone’s wife, and that’s anti-feminist. You don’t have to yell at me. I had a good mother, all right? I’d never be pro-misogyny. Some of my dad’s best deputies are women. But what I’m saying is that she’s been trapped in that form for more than a hundred years now, and she was put there for trying to murder someone. She’s had nothing but time to plot out how she would kill everyone else, and she made me, Allison and Scott sacrifice ourselves to keep our families safe. I’m pro-feminist, but I’m very much anti-tree woman.” 

Scott licked his lips and exhaled, looking at Lydia. “Don’t hit me. I agree with Stiles. We already ‘died’ for this… this…” He hesitated, looking at Clotho before saying uncertainly, “Bloodwound? And it’s caused us nothing but grief since then. In Peter’s case, he was insane and trying to avenge family members that had died. In Gwydion’s case, he was keeping his nephew safe.” He grimaced. “By turning her back into a tree, but still. If she was running around trying to murder her own husband, then maybe it was just safer for him to keep her out of the way like that. Not for us, obviously, because she still…” He exhaled. “Tried to kill us. As a tree.” He sank back against his seat, putting his head in his hands, and muttered, “Why is this my life?”

Malia reached out and patted her hand lightly against Scott’s head in what she thought was a comforting manner. “I don’t think you have it that bad.” She told him. “You have good friends, you have your beta, you have a solid pack, and you’re a true alpha. That sounds pretty okay to me.”

Scott glanced toward Liam and smiled affectionately at the younger man before looking back at Malia and squeezing her hand. “Thanks.”

Derek tapped his fingers against his thigh, watching Clotho steadily. “This all sounds… familiar to me.” He murmured. The fingers of his other hand wound through Lydia’s. “I think… I think I remember my mother telling me this story years ago. This is how the Hale line began.”

Lydia looked over at Derek, surprised. “You’re related to the Nemeton?” She snorted. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?” 

“It could have been.” Atropos mused. “But when Arianrhod cursed her son, he wasn’t able to be with any woman, human or animal. That’s why Gwydion made up for his failure by giving his nephew a new wife, who was both. And this one, he hadn’t needed to create. The same year that Blodeuwedd was condemned to live out the rest of her days in the woods here, twenty-four children were born that would become integral to the history of this town. One of them wasn’t born here, and that was Anna Hale, whose mother was a werewolf, and whose father was finally christened, at the request of his wife. He took her last name and decided that he was so enamored with her and so grateful, that every other man willing to marry into the family would have to do what he did.” 

“Twenty-four, like my jersey number.” Stiles mumbled, nudging Allison. He glanced toward Clotho, then looked away again, feeling like the Fates’ storytelling was the only thing keeping him distracted from having a nervous breakdown. Even though he was angry, he had developed the need to protect Clotho, and that courtesy extended to her sisters. He wasn’t going to let the Furies hurt them. Not, at least, until he had heard the whole story behind their deception and judged for himself whether or not he wanted to help them. 

“Anna wanted to be normal, like her friends.” Clotho continued where Atropos had left off. “She gathered as many teenagers, like herself, as she could. They built homes in the woods, but they were poorly constructed. Surrounded by so many people and forced into a leadership role, she became the first True Alpha.” 

Scott jerked upright, looking attentive. “So… it’s absolutely certain that the first True Alpha was a Hale.” He looked at Derek. “She must have been, what, your great-great-great grandmother?” 

Derek huffed softly, a small smile on his face. “Only two greats, there. Anna was my mom’s great-grandmother. I know the people in my family, even if I don’t entirely know all of the history of them. Mom never got around to telling me everything.”

Lachesis folded her arms over her chest. “Whether you think so or not, she told you all of the things that you need to be told, Derek.” She smiled hesitantly. “And she would have told you more, had she lived longer.”

Allison directed her gaze to Atropos at that, scowling. “About that - you all said that you help a person pick their path in life and direct their fate and whatever, so how in the world could you let my aunt do something so completely heinous to Derek’s family? What could the Hales have possibly done to even deserve what Kate did to them? How could that - out of all of the outcomes that there could have been - how could _that_ have been their fate?”

“We didn’t _let_ her do it, she just did it.” Atropos frowned. “It’s not our job to ensure that nobody ever dies, it’s our job to set someone down on a path and let them choose which direction they take. That being said, do you think you would have come here with your parents if there hadn’t been reports of an Alpha werewolf and rampant killings? You never would have met anyone here. You’d be a hunter and you’d never stop to think about the person under the fur.” 

“Can we skip to the part where that whackjob said Allison was supposed to be dead?” Stiles demanded. “What the hell was that about?” 

Allison stiffened suddenly and huddled into Stiles’ side, like she was trying to make herself as small as possible. 

Lachesis exchanged a look with her sisters and exhaled. “Allison Argent did not initially survive her encounter with the Oni and the Nogitsune.” She finally said, lowering her gaze.

Allison let out a panicked, gasping breath and turned away, her hand clutching Stiles’ hand so tightly she could have broken a bone. “Oh god. I died. I was dead? I was really dead.”

“All of you were really dead.” Clotho spoke quietly. “Lydia was the first to fall, so that she couldn’t alert the others of what was coming. Then Allison and Scott. Isaac, Kira, Derek. And Stiles was the last. The Furies are angry with us for reversing all of that and making you forget. It’s not who we are or what we’re allowed to do, but we haven’t seen anyone like you in a handful of generations, and we felt that what happened was far too wrong to ignore. We gave Allison a scar as a reminder of the injury she sustained, because we couldn’t entirely undo the attack where you lost your lives. We knew that Lydia’s abilities would reveal the truth eventually, and we knew that Stiles is unwilling to let go of something that bothers him, until he’s figured it out. All of you are connected, and it was only a matter of time before the truth came to light. We just wish it could have happened differently. We won’t alter anything more, we’re already facing retribution for what we’ve done.” She made a face as she looked from Allison to Stiles, then Scott. “We do, from time to time, try to give people that extra push. When Allison showed up at school, that very first day that she met most of you, we were intrigued to see whether she would develop an interest in Scott or Stiles.” 

Allison felt a chill run down her spine and stiffened as she straightened up and stared at Clotho. “What does that… What do you mean by that? The ‘extra push’? And why would you mention that right before you say something about Scott and Stiles and my relationships with both of them?” She shut her eyes and exhaled shakily. “Did you… did you give me an extra push with them? Did you manipulate my feelings for either one of them?”

“No, we don’t _do_ that.” Clotho replied, frustrated. “We guided you and Stiles to communicate with one another, but how long you kept going with that and what you said to one another? Those things were your own decisions. Your feelings for one another are real. Scott’s frustration about it is also real.” She smiled faintly at the alpha. “Everything that has happened to all of you since the two of you began talking again? It’s got nothing to do with us. We’ve been a little busy with providing any potential threats decision after decision to keep them away, just wanting all of you to have good things in your lives for as long as we were able. The Furies are angry with us, so we have to leave. Whether we run away to hide or they force us out, we’ll be gone.” 

“That’s cute and all, but you’ve lied to us about everything else, so why should we trust you on this?” Stiles frowned. “Any vision of our deaths or anything that you could show us might just be another lie.” 

Scott cleared his throat. “Guys, I know you’re hurt, but we’ve got to focus on the threat here, and I really don’t think that it’s these three. It’s the ones that confronted you - the Furies? If they’re pissed at the Fates for changing things, think about how they must feel about us? We’re basically walking, talking slaps in the face to them. What are we going to do? What _can_ we do about it?”

“We can’t kill them.” Lydia looked over at Atropos. “Can we?” 

Atropos looked hopeful for a moment as she considered it, but she shook her head. “No. Everyone and everything would be coming after us. And you.” 

“And we can’t ward them off, because if someone else finds out, they’d take advantage of that.” Stiles groaned. “Okay, so no death or banishment for the Furies. But they’re not allowed to hurt you guys, since you brought us back. Or you claim you did, anyway.” 

“I don’t think they’re lying, Stiles.” Lydia stood up and walked through the room, turning the heat up on the thermostat. She felt like she couldn’t stop shivering. She knew it was from Atropos’ proximity, not the temperature in the loft, but she needed to do something.

Derek frowned. “The only people who _could_ bring us back would be the Fates.” He said in agreement, and then held his arms out to Lydia. “Come here.” He murmured to her.

Lydia smiled gratefully at Derek as she put her arms around his waist. She felt even more certain about herself and Derek, knowing that the Fates had been working hard to make sure the pack was happy. “I think we have all the proof we need.” She tilted her head back a little to meet Derek’s gaze. “This is what we’re supposed to be doing.” 

Derek gazed down at her, then lowered his head to hers for a gentle kiss. He pulled back, smiling, and rubbed his hands over her arms to warm her up. “I think I’m going to agree with Lydia, Stiles.” He said without looking away from Lydia.

Allison looked at them for a moment, and then looked at Stiles long enough to cringe unhappily. The idea that anything between herself and Stiles might have been manipulated terrified her, and she couldn’t help wincing when she looked at him. He could do a million times better than her.

Stiles looked back at Allison, feeling weary as he saw her cringe. Just that morning, they had been talking about having a baby together and how willing they were to fight for what they wanted, no matter what either of their fathers thought about it. This new information seemed to have changed things for her. “Um, do you want to go talk?” He wanted her to say no and come closer and kiss him, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen. 

Allison furrowed her brow and shook her head. She didn’t seem happy, but she didn’t seem to want to avoid Stiles either, and she clung to him tightly. “Can we talk later?” She asked hopefully. “Can you just hold me right now?”

Stiles nodded. He put his arms around her and pulled her close as he closed his eyes. He knew she said she wanted to wait, and he also knew it was putting pressure on her, even as he said it. But that had never stopped him before and probably never would in the future, either. “I don’t want this to end.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to lose you.” 

Allison clutched his arms tightly, her face crumpling as she buried her face against his shoulder. “I don’t want to lose you, either.” She whispered, starting to sniffle again.

Stiles pulled back a little and looked at Allison. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I want to be with you forever. Beyond forever, if that even exists.” 

Allison stared up at him bleakly, her chin wobbling a little. “What if wanting it isn’t enough? What if something stops us, what if someone gets in the way and tries to keep us from being together?” She swallowed. “I want forever with you, too, but I’m scared. I don’t want someone to try to take it from us.”

“Yes, but if you don’t ever take a risk, there’s no point in you being alive.” Lydia’s voice was muffled by Derek’s shoulder, where she was resting against him. “You have to work at relationships a little. They don’t happen like magic.” 

Derek nuzzled his face against her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo deeply and dropping soft kisses against the crown of her head.

Allison stared at Lydia and Derek for a long moment, and then inhaled deeply before she breathed out and looked up at Stiles, repeating Lydia’s words in her mind. She all but climbed into Stiles’ lap, wrapping her arms around him and hiding her face against his neck. “I love you.” She whispered.

"I love you, too." Stiles rubbed Allison's back. "Don't leave me, okay?" He sat up straight, the words too familiar. "I know what we're going to do."

Scott watched Stiles and Allison, a sympathetic expression on his face for them where just weeks before, there would have been jealousy and unhappiness. He looked at Stiles when the other boy spoke. "What are we doing?"

“The Furies might be in charge of what happens to the rest of the world.” Stiles smiled. “But in this town, my dad’s the foremost authority. And I might be a little bit insane for thinking it, but I doubt he’d be too happy about somebody undoing what the Fates did for us. The Furies are all about family, and we?” He gestured to encompass everyone in the room. “We’re a family. They’re not going to touch us. I’m going to set up a perimeter.” He nodded. “If they decide we’re all supposed to be corpses, they’ll have to deal with my dad. If they agree to leave us alone, I’ll break a line and let them out. We just need to figure out how to trap them.” 

Lachesis frowned in consternation. “To my knowledge, nothing man-made is capable of capturing the Furies. They are older than us, older than time itself, and we have no way of knowing what, if anything, could defeat them. Although…” She trailed off. “Their intent is to maintain the balance and to mete out justice. Like your father. It’s entirely likely that when confronted with his authority, they will desist.” She hesitated, grimacing. “But I am not any more willing to risk your father than I am to risk your pack, and the Furies are volatile… Alecto and Megaera in particular. It is just as likely that when confronted by your father, they will _not_ cede to his authority, and he will be in danger.”

“But it’s all we’ve got.” Stiles bit his lip, thinking. He definitely didn’t want to risk his dad’s life, but he wasn’t sure what more the pack could do. 

“Well, there is _one_ other option. The Furies won’t undo what we’ve done if there’s a reason they can’t, and there is a reason.” Clotho smiled warmly. “I really think that all of you will be safe. I can’t speak for us, however.” 

It caught Allison’s attention and dug its metaphorical claws in. She sat up straight and narrowed her eyes at Clotho, wavering a little when she looked at the woman that was formerly - that she’d thought was her child. “What exactly do you mean, you can’t speak for yourselves? What is the reason? Why wouldn’t you be safe?”

“We’ve still violated laws.” Clotho explained. “We did it for a very good reason, but that isn’t enough for the Furies. They’re the judge, jury and executioners, when needed. Not that they can have us sentenced to death. They need us as much as we need them.” 

Atropos glanced up. “Well, I decide who lives and dies.” She giggled, despite the serious situation. “And I’m not letting the Furies undo our hard work.” 

Derek caught the smile on Allison’s face just before she forced it away and cleared his throat, his hands shifting Lydia in his lap until she was sitting sideways with his arms around her waist. “I’m still lost on a lot of this. I figured I would die somehow, that entire year, and you said that Allison didn’t survive the Oni.” His hands clung tightly, protectively, to Lydia. “What did they do to everyone else?”

Scott grimaced. “Dude, I don’t want to know about that.”

Derek sighed. “Call me a glutton for punishment. I need to know. In case they try to make the circumstances happen again in another way.”

Atropos nodded. “The nogitsune took Lydia with him while all of you were distracted. As soon as everyone came to get her back, he killed her because he was going to kill everyone else, and he thought her screams might alert the rest of you. Allison was run through by an Oni, and as she was dying, Scott was trying to take her pain. He didn’t see, and wasn’t paying attention, to what was happening behind him. And then it was too late. Isaac turned to run, but he was the next to die. Kira couldn’t take on so many Oni at once, and I believe the fight just went out of you.” She told Derek. “Stiles wasn’t even there, so his death happened an hour or so later, when the nogitsune planned to take his place. This was not how I planned on things happening. And no, I will _not_ tell you details about that.” 

Stiles put his hand back down, having raised it to ask Atropos how he was going to die. “But if you’re in charge of all of the death, how did that slip past you?” 

“Deities aren’t as all-powerful or all-knowing as we’d like to let everyone believe. If we had any idea that the Furies were here, for instance? We would have left. Or we would have tried harder to keep you from ever meeting them. But every culture, every person in fact, has their own belief system. We’re all supposed to restrict ourselves to certain regions of the world, as necessary, but once in awhile? Somebody gets it in his or her head that they don’t have to conform to the rules. And that’s why we have the Furies. We should have let them deal with the nogitsune, but we thought you all deserved more of a chance.” She glanced toward her sisters, then sighed. “Because when Anna’s pack fell, at the hands of her own mother, we did nothing.” 

Derek stiffened, staring at them in horror. “Anna’s mother killed Anna’s pack? Did the Furies even do anything about that?”

Scott put his hand on Derek’s shoulder, squeezing firmly. “Easy, man.” He murmured.

“Times were different back then.” Atropos murmured softly, feeling guilty for what she was saying. “Children who defied their parents, even rightfully so, were still seen as problematic.” 

Lachesis looked away. “Regardless of what Bessie had done, she was considered in the right, and destroyed the pack as one way of convincing her daughter to return home. Anna refused, and so Bessie gave her an ultimatum - she could either return home with Bessie, or remain in the woods where she had tried to create her pack’s home. She was forbidden to give the bite to anyone else, but she also had to convince her future husband to take her surname, to carry on the Hale name through the maternal line. What Bessie had done, and what she had offered Anna, was considered benevolent.”

“How do we protect you?” Stiles took a deep breath. “I’m still pissed off at all three of you and I kind of think you’re assholes for not telling us the truth right away, but I can’t say I’ve never lied to protect people, either.” 

Lachesis smiled sadly. “There is no way to protect us, my dear. It is our duty to protect you, and we failed, several times.” She glanced at her sisters.

Allison lowered her head, wrapping her hand around Stiles’ wrist. “I don’t want you to put yourselves in harm’s way to protect us. Maybe you failed the first time you tried, but you did what you could to fix it.”

“Well, they can’t kill you, so maybe it won’t be so bad.” Stiles looked away when Lydia turned suddenly and glared at him. 

Allison wrapped her arms around his neck, tucking his head against her neck, and glared back at Lydia for a moment. The glare faltered, and she stared at the Fates before asking hesitantly, “What exactly _can_ they do to you?”

“We’ll be punished until they’ve decided we’ve learned our lesson. They drove Orestes to the brink of insanity, taking everything away from him slowly, until he had nothing left. No family, no wealth.” Clotho pursed her lips, thinking. “They’ll probably separate the three of us.” 

“But they can’t do that!” Allison blurted, nearly launching herself onto her feet in her fervor. “The world needs the Fates. The Furies, not so much. They sort of do a half-assed job, anyway.”

Stiles grinned up at Allison as he watched her, content to let her be the one to do the ranting. 

“We’d still be doing our jobs, just not together. Which is bound to create chaos for them to have to clean up.” Clotho looked troubled. “Maybe they set us up. It does seem like they’d get a lot of favor out of this.” 

“Chaos, like the kind a nogitsune would feed off of?” Stiles demanded, his smile fading. “Okay, that’s really not -” He closed his eyes and tried to stay calm. Everything had become a blur, and he reacted without thinking. “Shut up! Everybody just.... no talking.” 

Scott gave Stiles a light thwack in the arm, frowning at his friend as he tried to get his attention. He didn’t want to speak when Stiles had that expression on his face, like he was falling apart and spiraling all at once.

“Holy hell, Scott!” Lydia snapped. “That’s not helping.” She shook her head at the alpha. “Get him a glass of water.” 

“I’ll do it.” Until now, Liam had been silent, watching the rest of the pack fall apart and come back together, around him. He went into Derek’s kitchen and returned with a black coffee mug full of water. 

Stiles nodded gratefully as he drank the water in one long gulp, twisting the mug around in his hands to see if it had any writing on it. He snorted and glanced up at Derek. “Why do you have a Phantom of the Opera coffee cup?” 

“Because I got it for him.” Lydia rolled her eyes. “We can’t all be fixated on Star Wars.” 

Derek ducked his head, grinning into Lydia’s shoulder. “Not that I mind that either, but it’s more of a thing between myself and Lydia.” He pressed a kiss to her collarbone.

Scott looked sheepish and had one hand resting on Stiles’ bicep. “I’m sorry, man.”

Stiles nodded. “It does sound like they’re working with the nogitsune.” He took another deep breath. “I’m okay. Just... I had to deal with him being in my head for so long, I can recognize when he’s involved.” 

Allison dropped back onto his lap and hugged him gently, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she stroked his hair back. “We aren’t going to let them do anything this time. The nogitsune or the Furies.” She shook her head. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe, and to keep the Fates safe. I refuse to lose any of you.”

“I’m going to call my dad and get him to come over here, so he can offer suggestions.” Stiles kissed Allison’s shoulder, then her neck. He moved his lips up to the space behind her ear before he remembered that he was trying to accomplish something else, so he laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around her, tugging her backward as he slid to the side and got up from the couch. He went into the kitchen and got his phone out of his pocket, calling his dad’s cell phone. 

Allison giggled softly, her face flaming red as she drew her legs up underneath her.

John answered his phone warily, a look of concern appearing when he saw Stiles’ name. “Son? What’s going on?”

“Well, a lot of things.” Stiles began carefully. “Can you come to Derek’s, so we can talk? It’s too much to get into when we’re on the phone.” He was dreading having to explain that all of them had died. He was hoping he wouldn’t need to mention that part, but he thought it was only fair. Trying to talk around the fact that the Fates had messed with the natural order of things and that the Furies were out for blood, because of it, would be difficult enough without his verbal gymnastics. 

John was quiet, frowning. “Of course I can,” he murmured. “Are you alright, kiddo?”

“I guess I am.” Stiles leaned out of the kitchen to look at the rest of the pack members, thinking about what the world would be like without them in his life, or without him in his dad’s life, or any other possible combination of any of them being gone. He still missed Erica and regretted not knowing Boyd well enough that the beta wolf could have considered him a friend. “I feel like I’m a lot older than I was this morning.” 

John let out a soft, sympathetic-sounding laugh. “So my boy grew up in a day, huh?” He shook his head. “I’m glad you’re alright, Stiles. I’ll be there soon. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.” Stiles hung up and walked back toward the couch, shoving his phone into his pocket. “He’s on his way.” He murmured to Allison. “We’ll have to start off by telling him about Chloe not actually being Chloe.” 

Allison’s face fell, and she sighed, leaning against him. “Oh. He’s going to be so upset.” She sighed, and then scowled. “My dad’s probably going to be making the ‘I told you so’ face.”

“I don’t care what your dad says.” Stiles muttered. “He should just be grateful that we’re even here. Anything else, he can shut the hell up about it.” 

Allison grumbled softly and nosed against Stiles’ neck, curling up against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there were no official guesses, but we're still taking suggestions for things you want to see in this 'verse, anyway.


	18. Wearing Heartache on Your Sleeve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek cupped Stiles’ face, rubbing his thumbs over the boy’s cheeks and grinning before leaning down to kiss him slowly. “It’s much more fun when I win, anyway.” He reminded Stiles before pulling him into a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title comes from a line in New Year's Eve by Nina Gordon.

_December 31, 2012  
9 pm_

Stiles let himself into Derek’s apartment, cautious about the box in his hands. It was full of alcohol from Lydia’s mother’s liquor cabinet, but he doubted that Ms. Martin would miss anything, since she was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Really, the alcohol should have been thrown out already, but he suspected that it wasn’t the cheap stuff from the grocery store. “Okay, I’ve got alcohol. Who owes me kisses?” 

Derek stood up from the couch, looking amused, and took the box out of Stiles’ hands. “Are you asking because you want kisses, or because you genuinely can’t remember?” He set the box down on the counter.

“Like I’d forget.” Stiles murmured, grinning. “Come here.” He gestured for Derek to come closer. “It’s been more than twelve hours. I’m going through withdrawal symptoms.” 

“Idiot.” Derek snorted, but moved closer, his arms slipping around Stiles’ waist. “You have withdrawal symptoms after twelve minutes.” He lowered his head to kiss him slowly.

Stiles kissed back, smiling again as he pulled away. “Well, that’s because I’m addicted to you.” 

“You got half of that right.” Lydia remarked, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it up near the door. “You’re a dick.” She pulled one of the bottles out of the box on the counter and opened it, getting glasses down to fill them for everyone in the pack. Halfway through pouring the wine, she stopped and changed her mind, filling the last few glasses with soda, instead. She set them aside for Allison, Liam and Isaac. None of the three of them were interested in drinking alcohol, even though tonight practically called for it. She glanced up at Derek and Stiles, who were still wrapped around each other. “No drunken public sex for the two of you. I heard there was a close call the other day.” 

“No promises.” Derek replied dryly, and turned away from Stiles briefly to drop his arm around the other man’s shoulders, pulling him close.

Allison climbed up onto the couch, sitting on the back of it and placing her hands on Scott’s shoulders. She cringed. “God, please don’t. The way you spend the end of the year is the way you start the new one, and I don’t want to start the new year hearing Derek’s sex growls.” She looked up at Derek. “No offense, sweetie.”

“You’re just jealous.” Stiles teased, nodding. “Because everybody wants Derek. You’d all be stupid not to.” He leaned against his boyfriend. “You’re my favorite.” 

“And I’ve grown fond of you, Stiles.” Derek replied, smirking down at Stiles.

Scott let out a giggle, astonished. “Oh my god, Derek watches _Family Guy_.”

“I give up. I can’t win.” Stiles pouted, attempting to give Derek puppy eyes to see how he would react. The two of them had been together since Stiles got back from Paris with Allison. Stiles had been miserable the entire time, wondering what Derek was doing or if the werewolf even noticed that he was gone. 

Derek cupped Stiles’ face, rubbing his thumbs over the boy’s cheeks and grinning before leaning down to kiss him slowly. “It’s much more fun when I win, anyway.” He reminded Stiles before pulling him into a hug.

Lydia frowned at Stiles and Derek, getting out her phone to call Jackson. She was frustrated with him for being late, even though she figured he was probably going to show up with some kind of surprise for her. She had trained him well enough for that when they dated before, and even though she told him she wasn’t interested in living her life that way anymore, she still hoped he’d fall back on old habits. 

Jackson’s phone rang right as he burst through the door to the loft, and he stared down at it in confusion, promptly revealing the large bouquet of flowers that it looked like he’d attempted to keep hidden behind his back. He blinked, looked up at Lydia, and then cursed as his gaze lowered to the bouquet. “Goddammit.” He muttered and stomped toward her, scowling and pouting. “It was supposed to be a damn surprise.”

Lydia smiled and took the flowers, leaning toward Jackson to kiss him. “I am surprised.” She insisted. “I didn’t think you remembered my favorite flowers.” She lifted the bouquet toward her nose and breathed in the scent of the blossoms. “Derek, you’d better have a vase somewhere in here.” 

Derek snorted. “I think I have a pitcher you could use somewhere.” He offered, and then motioned for her to follow him, giving Stiles another slow, promise-filled kiss before he moved away.

Lydia opened the cabinet and reached for one of the coffee mugs when she didn’t find much of anything else that would work as a vase. She looked down at it, then back up at Derek. “Let me guess, you needed a coffee cup and this was the first one you could grab?” She held it up to show him the _Phantom of the Opera_ mask on the cup. 

Derek stared at it for a moment, frowning. “No, I… Actually, I’m not sure where I got that.” He scratched at the back of his head in confusion. “It must have been Laura’s.” He deduced, though he still seemed uncertain.

“Sorry.” Lydia murmured. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories for you.” She hesitated. “Maybe I shouldn’t use this one. Do you have a tall glass? Because the only other alternative is for me to use a wine bottle, and I’d have to empty it first. Stiles might cry.” 

Derek snorted again, and shook his head. “I have a pitcher,” he reminded her, and moved to stand beside her, reaching into the higher shelf of the cabinet so that he could retrieve it before he handed it to her, his hand lightly brushing hers.

Lydia glanced up at Derek, wondering what it would be like to kiss him. She took a few steps back, blushing faintly in embarrassment. “Okay, can you... you can put them in the pitcher for me. Thank you.” She left the kitchen, going into the bathroom to give herself a moment to get over the reaction she had just had. She had missed Jackson during their time apart, and she still loved him. She was planning to go to MIT and mock him relentlessly when he went to Harvard. They would get married at some point and she would drag him back to Beacon Hills, even if it meant he was kicking and screaming the whole way. She didn’t have time to think about dark-haired men with tragic pasts and soulful eyes. 

Derek blinked in confusion, his eyes following Lydia as she hurried away, before he hesitantly turned to place the flowers in the pitcher and filled it up with water as he thought over the encounter. Lydia’s flush - her entire reaction - had started the moment he’d moved next to her, the second he’d touched her hand, and he could feel his own cheeks turning red. He scratched at the back of his neck, awkwardly this time, and carried the pitcher back into the living room, trying to force the blush to disappear.

Stiles gave Derek a curious look, but turned back toward Scott and Allison. “So yeah, her aunt came and got her.” He finished explaining what had happened to the little girl that he and his dad had taken in for a few weeks. “But Dad had about a hundred questions before he would let Chloe out of his sight.” 

“Chloe.” Allison hummed, a faint smile on her face. “I like that name.”

Malia sat on Liam abruptly, from where she’d been making a circuit of the living room, and grinned when she elicited a yelp from the younger man. “Of course your dad had questions. Your dad has millions of questions about everything. What was she like, anyway? Was she human?”

Scott looked at Allison, raising his eyebrows in surprise, but couldn’t help grinning and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I think she would have made it clear whether she was human or not at least within that first week, you know? She was, what? Four? Five? How much control can a kid that age have?”

Derek looked at him. “Plenty. My mother used to tell us that the entire family around us could be twitching during a full moon as they got ready to shift, but Laura and I could just sit and watch, and our eyes would never so much as glow. Cora used to run circles around us at that age.”

Scott paused, then blinked and said slowly, “Okay… so how much control could a non-Hale child have at that age?”

Lydia walked out of the bathroom and put her arms around Jackson, refusing to so much as glance at Derek until she was sure she wouldn’t humiliate herself. 

“Well, the point is...” Stiles continued. “I already kind of miss her.” He snorted, but he had to duck his head and take a deep breath. “Anyway, um, yeah. I need more alcohol.” 

Jackson smiled up at Lydia, winding his arm around her.

“Aww.” Allison made a sympathetic noise and reached out to squeeze Stiles’ hand.

Derek rubbed Stiles’ shoulders gently, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. He reached for one of the wine bottles and carefully tipped it into a glass before he handed it to Stiles.

Stiles gave Derek a grateful smile, then took a sip from his glass and glanced over at Allison. “I’m done being a buzzkill. Sorry.” 

Allison smiled at him gently. “Don’t apologize. We all understand.”

Scott nodded eagerly. “Yeah, totally get it, dude.”

Liam nodded as well, even though he doubted anyone was paying attention to him and Malia. “Hey, do you want to go for a walk?” He asked quietly, not wanting to pressure her to leave with him, but he didn’t feel like staying. 

Malia raised her eyebrows at him. “For stuff, or just to get away? Because no.” She pointed at the wine bottles. “Alcohol. Derek said he’d let me drink tonight.” She nuzzled into him, nipping at his ear. “Stay.”

Liam whined, but turned his head to smile at her. “Fine, I’ll stay.” He shrugged. “But I’m not drinking alcohol. I already have enough issues with controlling myself, as it is.” 

Malia laid a smacking kiss onto the side of his head, looking pleased. “Noted.”

“We need to write down our resolutions and share them with each other.” Lydia insisted. “You can have more than two, but we’re sharing two. I want to make sure everyone sticks to theirs this year.” 

Jackson kissed her shoulder. “Do we need to write them down? Why don’t we just tell each other, baby?”

Allison’s head jerked up, and she blinked in confusion when she heard the endearment, looking around in consternation. It sounded familiar - but Scott had never called her that before. She frowned and leaned forward a little, wrapping her arms around Scott’s neck.

“We can tell each other, but we should write them down so that later on, we can’t lie and try to say that we said something else.” Lydia smiled. “You know how I feel about that, after what Peter did to me. And the rest of us.” 

Jackson smiled back at her. “Deal. I can definitely handle that.” He hugged her close and kissed her again.

Stiles turned his head to kiss Derek, then sat down on the couch, beside Scott. He leaned back, tilting his head back against the cushion to glance up at Allison. “Hi.” 

Allison blinked, shaking herself out of her thoughts, and she looked down at Stiles with a grin. “Hi.” She reached out and playfully tapped his nose.

***

Stiles couldn’t stop smiling and laughing, two hours later. They were twenty minutes away from two thousand-thirteen, and they were just days away from their final semester of high school (except for Liam and Derek). He had started off freshman year with Scott as his only real friend, and now he had a whole group of people who looked out for him, and vice versa. He felt like everything was great, but that might have been because he had four glasses of wine. “Okay, can we do our resolutions now, so I can kiss Derek at midnight?” 

“Absolutely _not_ ,” Scott snorted. “Like we wanna see you two inhaling each other’s lungs.”

Jackson smirked. “Brave of you to say that, considering how often you and Allison come up for air.”

Malia squinted at them all. “Why can’t you just kiss without making it disgusting?” She asked, frowning.

“Scott and I are like brothers, so anytime he has to see me kissing anyone, he’s disgusted by default.” Stiles explained. “But for the record, it doesn’t bother me.” 

“Doesn’t bother me, either.” Scott replied, and promptly grabbed Stiles’ face in both hands, pressing an obnoxiously loud kiss to Stiles’ cheek before sitting back and laughing.

Allison smacked at him, giggling. “Stop it, Derek’s going to murder you.”

Scott turned wide eyes and a wobbling lower lip at Derek. “He wouldn’t do that. Would you, Der? You _love_ me, you wouldn’t hurt me, you would never - oomph.”

Derek clamped his fingers firmly over Scott’s lips, pinching them closed. “I will, and I could, whenever I liked, and I don’t out of respect for you because you’re my alpha, and for Stiles, because for some reason, he likes you.”

Stiles beamed at Derek. “I like him, but I love you.” He froze, feeling a little confused by the words. He was pretty sure he meant them, but this was the first time he had said it. “I’m gonna tell you again when I’m sober, swear to god.” 

Derek’s mouth opened and closed, and he frowned at Stiles, unsure of how to feel. He hadn’t exactly expected the words to fall out of his mouth like that, and he was still working on the way _he_ felt about Stiles on top of it. “I… uh. Okay?”

Allison grimaced. Those words didn’t seem right to her when it was coming from Stiles to Derek, but she wasn’t sure why.

“I’m gonna go first with my resolutions, and then I’m gonna kiss you and go sleep this off.” Stiles murmured. “Um, okay. The first one is that I’m gonna focus more on the future, instead of just doing whatever I feel like in the moment.” He grimaced. “Well, it’s not midnight yet, so I haven’t screwed that one up. The second one is to be more useful around here. The town, I mean. But with you guys, too. I feel like I was supposed to be the one to find Chloe, and I’m kind of sick of being treated like I’m a prison sentence waiting to happen.” 

Scott put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder, squeezing. “Dude, we totally don’t feel that way about you. You’re the most important one here.”

“I beg to differ.” Jackson piped up, then shrugged when he was glared at. “What? You can’t expect me to be BFFs with Stilinski after all the shit we gave each other, can you? It goes against the laws of nature.”

Allison rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Jackson’s head. “Shut up, idiot.” She leaned around Scott and gave Stiles a gentle hug, resting her head against his shoulder. “We absolutely do not think of you like that. Scott’s right, Stiles. You’re important, and you are useful. You’re better than the rest of us.” She smiled playfully at him. “Well, maybe except for Lydia, but you know she’s in a league of her own.”

Lydia smiled. “Thank you, Allison.” 

Stiles knew he was supposed to get up and kiss Derek, then go lay down upstairs. But Allison’s arms around him felt pretty good. He closed his eyes, smiling. “Yeah, thank you.” He nodded. 

Allison didn’t let go of him right away, but when she did, she lingered enough to press a kiss to his cheek before she straightened and pulled back, curling against Scott.

Scott watched Allison’s interaction with Stiles, frowning between the two of them in confusion before relaxing against his girlfriend and wrapping her in his arms. “Okay, well… My two resolutions are, uh. First, I’m going to do my best to be open to all of you. I don’t want any of you looking at me and thinking that I don’t want to talk to you because I’m busy with Allison, or Alpha-dom or something, okay? You guys can all come talk to me whenever you want. Just do like Lydia does and grab me by the ears.” He laughed lightly. “Second, I am going to make absolutely sure to keep this pack together, no matter what happens in the next year, and no matter who goes where for college. We’re not just pack.” He looked significantly at Derek. “We’re family. We’re always going to be that way. Even Jackson.”

Jackson scowled. “Thanks, McCall.” He muttered.

“I resolve,” Lydia spoke over Jackson, smiling at him. “To fight less with my boyfriend, since we’ve been given a second chance by him coming back here. And I also resolve to have two more amazing parties before I go to college. The first one will be after graduation. The second one will be at the end of the summer.” 

Jackson smiled back at Lydia. “Those will be some damn good parties, but as glad as I am that we’ve got a second chance, not fighting with you will suck. It’s how we communicate more often than not.” He leaned forward and kissed her.

Malia lifted herself onto her knees, straddling Liam’s lap backward as she leaned forward. “I still don’t get these resolution things, but I guess I resolve to work harder in school so that I’m not constantly distracted by how damn much I sometimes just want to shift back into a coyote and kill a few squirrels.” She ignored the horrified looks some of the group directed at her. “And I also resolve to nag the hell out of Derek until he teaches me everything he knows about being a shifter, and everything he knows about what my family was like.” She looked across the living room at him, and her eyes softened as a smile appeared on her face. “Please.” She added softly.

Derek smiled back at her. “Of course.”

Lydia forced herself to look at Derek. “What are your resolutions for this year?” She directed her gaze at his nose, deciding it was the perfect focal point between his eyes and his lips. 

Derek leaned back, running his hand over Stiles’ hair and looking up at Lydia. “Me? Uh. I suppose… My resolutions would be… to do my best to be there for all of you, like Scott, but in a different capacity. I’m still working on being… social again, being able to trust again. And I trust you.” He blinked, and then looked around at the group. “ _All_ of you,” he clarified, clearing his throat. “So that’s a good start.” He looked down at Stiles. “My second resolution is to always do my best to be exactly what Stiles needs me to be, and to be what he deserves.”

Allison clenched Scott’s arm tightly at that, and cleared her throat, frowning.

Lydia glanced past Derek, looking at Allison. She was surprised to see the frustration she felt mirrored on her friend’s face. “That’s sweet. Allison and I need to go buy some things for breakfast right now. And I want to drop off my flowers.” She forced a wide smile. “You have to drive me, everyone else is drunk.” 

“I’m not drunk.” Isaac protested. “And neither is Liam.” 

“That’s great.” Lydia gave Isaac a dismissive look. “I _need_ Allison to drive me to the store, Isaac.” 

Malia frowned. “I don’t understand. Why do you _need_ her to drive you? Is something bad about to happen? Are you planning to scream? Because, you know, we’ll probably hear you, no matter where you go, you might as well just do it now if you are.”

Allison shook her head and stood up. “Malia, breathe. It’s fine.” She looked at Lydia and smiled at her best friend. “Yes, I can take you. But I want to give my resolutions first.” She looked almost vengeful when she spoke next. “I resolve to always be there for Scott, whenever he needs me, and I also resolve to take care of any threats that may try to come for this pack, in any way, shape or form.” Her eyes glinted, and though she’d spoken of Scott, her eyes had never once left the way that Derek’s hand was resting on Stiles’ shoulder.

Stiles gave Allison a concerned look. “Are you okay?” He leaned toward her, glancing at his hand for a moment as he tried to figure out if he should reach for her or not. It shouldn’t have been a difficult choice, but it felt that way. 

In an instant, Allison’s attitude disappeared, and she beamed brightly at them both. “I’m fine!” She replied, a little shrilly, before reaching for Lydia’s hand. “Let’s go. I can get you there and back, and we’ll still make it before the ball drops so you can kiss Jackson.”

“In fifteen minutes?” Stiles protested. “Don’t get caught speeding. Seriously, do it if you have to do it, but don’t get caught.” 

Lydia shook her head. “No speeding. We’ll be back when we get back, and if we miss kissing right at midnight? That’s a silly tradition, anyway.” 

“‘Don’t get caught?’” Allison repeated, grinning. “From the Sheriff’s son, that’s like blanket permission to screw off and get away with murder.”

“No murder.” Stiles paused, thinking it over. “No murder without help from the rest of us.” 

“Noted.” Allison nodded, and tugged on Lydia’s hand again. “Come on, let’s go.”

Lydia smiled and walked out of the apartment with Allison, staying silent until they were in the parking lot. “Okay, start talking.” 

Allison shook her head and pointed at her car. “Let’s at least make it halfway to the store first. Stupid werewolf ears.” She muttered, and sped up as she headed for the vehicle.

Lydia followed behind Allison, keeping to her own pace because she knew she would never be able to run as fast, even if she had been wearing sneakers instead of her favorite pair of high heels. She got into the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt, trying to get her mind off of heterochromatic eyes and arms that she instinctively knew could hold her tight, the way she liked. 

Allison sighed as she started up the car, pulling out of the parking lot outside of Derek’s building before driving onto the road. She was silent until, as she’d requested, they were halfway to the store, and looked at Lydia briefly. “I don’t know what it is about Derek and Stiles together but it alternately makes me intrigued and pisses me off.”

“Which one do you want?” Lydia smiled, echoing a question Allison had once asked her about Ethan and Aiden. 

Allison burst out laughing at her own recollection of the memory, and shook her head. “The smart-ass one.” She quipped, then sighed, slumping back in her seat. “Where is this even coming from? I’ve never been interested in Stiles before. Even asking him to come to Paris to help me pack was more because he’s got that insane method of filing things in absolute chaos that _still_ somehow manages to make sense and organizes everything.” She looked at her friend again. “Maybe it’s just me? He didn’t look like he was all too bothered with Derek’s tongue down his throat, which…” She trailed off, raising an eyebrow as her mind drifted. She blinked rapidly and shook her head, focusing back on the road. 

“I did think it was a little intriguing.” Lydia admitted. “But I’m more interested in Derek. Our hands touched in the kitchen and I practically ran to get away from him, and that was only because I wanted to kiss him. So the real question is, if you could have Scott as a reality or Stiles as a possibility, which sounds more appealing?” 

Allison groaned, her shoulders slumping. “I don’t _know_ ,” she whined. “I love Scott more than anything. God knows we’ve been through enough together. But… I barely interacted with Scott tonight, because as soon as Stiles and I were in the same room, it was like every single part of me was screaming at me to go to him. Like it was _wrong_ for us to not be wrapped around each other and infuriating everyone else.” She blinked once and stared at Lydia. “Wait, you want to kiss Derek? Since when? And what about Jackson? You two just got back together!”

Lydia nodded. “Exactly. We _just_ got back together and I’m looking elsewhere because... well, I think I’m bored. I don’t feel like I’m bored. It’s something else. I don’t know, it’s kind of insane, right? Me and Derek - that doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Maybe that’s why I’m interested.” 

“Opposites attract, interest in the unknown, and the fact that Derek is ridiculously gorgeous and still has that dangerous vibe about him even though practically this entire county knows that he’s a fluffy wolf pup that wants his belly rubbed?” Allison quipped, raising both eyebrows. She shook her head. “I’m so confused.”

“We could break them up.” Lydia mused. “I don’t know how. We’d figure it out. It’s not that I want them to be unhappy, I just think... well, maybe we’d be better off trying to convince everyone that we need one last fling before college. If this doesn’t go away.” She shook her head. “I don’t think that would work out well.” 

Allison let the car roll to a stop at the corner, just before the store and exhaled, bleakly staring over at Lydia. “That’s… I can’t… God, am I horrible for really wanting to go along with that idea? Because my first thought about this wasn’t even how Scott would feel, it was about tackling Stiles. I don’t even care about how my boyfriend would feel if I jumped his best friend.” She tilted her head back and whimpered. “I’m a horrible, awful person. I’m going to hell.”

“I don’t think you’re going to hell.” Lydia frowned. “But if you are, save me a seat? I can’t kiss Jackson while I’m thinking about Derek. I can’t stop thinking about Derek. I have to break up with my boyfriend and I just got him back.” 

“And he’s got a temper. It never really disappeared when we were in Paris, it just got more manageable.” Allison sighed, grimacing. “This is going to suck. This is going to suck a lot. This is going to suck, and I’m going to hurt Scott and oh my god, I don’t want to hurt Scott.”

“Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way.” Lydia looked out the window at the store. “Allison, I don’t even need to be here, I just wanted an excuse to leave.” She started laughing. “We’re in a lot of trouble, aren’t we?” 

Allison stared straight ahead at the store, and then snorted. “We’re so screwed.” She agreed, nodding. She sighed and backed the car up before leaving the parking lot. “Since we’re out here, I at least want to swing by my apartment. I have something there that Scott will probably like and I’d at least like to pretend not to be the Infinite Suck that is a girlfriend to him.”

“You can’t do that.” Lydia murmured. “Giving a guy a gift right before you break up with him is rude. It’s like you’ve just given him a consolation prize.” 

Whimpering, Allison smacked her hand on the steering wheel. “It’s not a consolation prize, it’s just a pack thing. Sort of. Kind of?” She grimaced. “It’s a mug that says ‘World’s Best Alpha.’ I’m not creative, I don’t pretend to be, but I forgot to give it to him on Christmas for some reason, and he might as well have something from me before I stomp all over his little puppy heart.”

“You know, it’s statistically likely that when a guy wants to break up, he starts behaving like an idiot, and he just gets worse until the girl initiates the break-up. I think we should consider turning the tables a little. It would be easier, and you wouldn’t have to hold onto that cup as a reminder.” Lydia sighed. “I’ve never had to plot out the end of a relationship before. I think I’m best off just telling Jackson that we’re over. I’ll make up a horrible excuse, like he didn’t go to the florist I like. It’s actually nicer to lie, at this point, than to say he’s just not what I want in a person anymore.” 

“I don’t think I have it in me to do that to Scott.” Allison sighed. “Let’s… Ugh. Let me just get to the apartment and then we’ll go back to the loft and we can start out the new year horribly.” She turned the opposite of the way she’d originally come, grimacing unhappily.

Lydia felt strange, like the thought of breaking up with Jackson had taken a weight off of her shoulders that she hadn’t even known was there. “I don’t feel very guilty.” She murmured. 

“I do. Mostly because I don’t.” Allison shook her head. “How the hell do I feel guilty for not feeling guilty? I don’t understand myself sometimes.”

“We should get some kind of official gear for that.” Lydia smiled. “I don’t like t-shirts, but I’d accept a nice purse.” 

“Membership cards, too,” Allison laughed. She drove until she arrived at her apartment complex, then parked and got out of the car. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Lydia followed Allison up to her apartment. She wondered what Derek liked to sleep in, what his favorite coffee was. She wanted to know everything. “Oh.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t think this is just a crush for me.” 

Allison looked at Lydia, her eyes soft and sympathetic. “Yeah, I… That’s another thing I probably should have mentioned to you about me, too?” She bit her lower lip uncomfortably. “I kind of feel the same way, except… you know.” She stared at her door for a moment, then pulled her key out to unlock the door. Her breath shook as she stepped inside and she closed her eyes for a moment. “I keep thinking about… I’m already at… I’m at the ‘what would our kids look like’ stage.”

Lydia smiled in relief, glad her friend understood, even though the situation was getting worse. “I want to watch movies with Derek and just curl up in his arms.” She laughed. “Okay, I feel like the more we talk about this, the worse it’s getting. Or better. We could say it’s better.” 

“We could also say that all hell is going to break loose.” Allison made a face and headed for her bedroom. She got down onto her knees and nearly crawled underneath the bed before she crawled back out again with a box in her hands. “I tucked the stupid thing in here so I wouldn’t get it mixed up in my other stuff. Not that I could, but anything can happen.” She muttered and opened the box, pulling the mug out and holding it up to Lydia for approval. “It’s lame, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think it’s lame. I think he’ll love it.” Lydia murmured. “Derek had a coffee cup with the mask from Phantom of the Opera. It looked familiar to me, and I’m not sure why.” 

Allison looked surprised. “Derek likes Phantom of the Opera? He doesn’t really strike me as the type.” She rifled through the other items in the box, pricking her finger on a spare arrowhead and cursing as she brought it up to her lips. She stuck her finger in her mouth, grumbling. She frowned and picked up the sleek black phone that was sitting in the bottom of the box as she waited for Lydia’s answer.

“He said he doesn’t know how he got it. He thought it might be Laura’s. Why do you have a second cell phone?” Lydia demanded. 

“I don’t know.” Allison replied, shrugging, but her eyes didn’t leave the phone. She finally looked up at Lydia a moment later, quirking a grin at her. “So apparently, I have a secret phone. Wanna look at it?”

Lydia grinned back. “Yes. You probably have a Parisian boyfriend that you’ve been hiding from the rest of us.” She held her hand out for the phone. “What’s his name?” 

Allison handed over the phone, snorting. “Pierre, obviously, if we’re going with cliches.”

“Good.” Lydia started looking through the text messages. “I expect to see a lot of je t’aime on here. It’s not worth it if -” She stared at the phone, then looked up at Allison. “I thought you _weren’t_ with Stiles.” 

Allison frowned. “What? I’m not. What are you talking about? Gimme.” She made grabby hands, reaching for the cell phone.

Lydia shook her head and turned her back to Allison, clutching the phone as she read one of the texts out loud. “This one says ‘I miss you, baby. Can’t stop thinking about this morning.’ It’s from a week ago.” 

Allison flushed red, ‘baby’ ringing in her ears. “What? No. I was with Scott pretty much every day last week, I wouldn’t have had time to even see anyone _but_ Scott, except during meetings.” She protested, trying to get to the phone again.

“Then why did _you_ reply with 'neither can I. I miss you so much. I hate being away from you,’ because that sounds pretty, um, straightforward.” Lydia held the phone out to Allison. “You have to tell Scott. You can’t just cheat on him. And Stiles is horrible for doing this to Derek. And Scott.” 

Allison looked hurt and furious. “And you think _I’m_ capable of doing the same thing? I’m not a cheater, Lydia! I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what _this_ ,” she waved her hand angrily at the phone, “even _is_ but I would never cheat, and it’s shitty of you to even say that to me!”

“Well, I don’t know!” Lydia looked frustrated. “I was happy with Jackson, and then we had this party and it’s the first time I’ve seen Derek since Jackson came back, and I feel like I’m in love with him. That would be enough, but now you have a cell phone full of clandestine messages between yourself and Stiles.” 

Allison stared at the phone, her breath hitching and her cheeks growing redder with each word she read. “I don’t understand how I don’t remember any of this,” she said, looking up at Lydia helplessly. “I didn’t even know I had this phone, but it’s full of these messages that…” She scrolled up as far as she could and blinked slowly. “That started when I came back from France. It’s… these aren’t just… It’s not just dirty messages in here, Lydia, it’s talking. About our favorite things, about stupid people, about music, and movies and the things we like, and then they just… grow?” She swallowed and stared up at her friend, stunned. “He talks to me about his mother in here.”

“Well, that sounds serious.” Lydia sighed and moved toward Allison’s bed, tugging her friend’s arm to get her to sit down on it with her. “We don’t have to go back there tonight. We can just say we’re tired or I broke one of my shoes or whatever you want to say. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck watching the guys we like make out, and while that doesn’t necessarily bother me in some instances, I don’t want to deal with it tonight.” 

Allison slumped, leaning against Lydia and resting her head on the other girl’s shoulder. “Agreed. I’ll… I’ll text Scott, and let him know. Do you want to stay with me tonight, or do you want me to drive you home?” She asked, hoping it was the former.

“I’ll stay. But only if you talk about Stiles. I’m going to talk about Derek.” Lydia smiled, pulling her feet out of her shoes and tucking them under her. “I don’t want Jackson or Scott to be hurt, and I don’t know what’s going on right now with your whole situation with the phone and Stiles, but I don’t want to dwell on potential problems, I want to be able to daydream for once.” 

“Daydreaming about Stiles…” Allison breathed, and pressed the toe of one foot to the heel of her boot, pushing it off before repeating the action with the other foot. She grabbed her cell phone - the usual one - and fired off a text to Scott, informing him of the change. Laying back, she shifted onto her side and turned to face Lydia. “Some of the things he said in those messages, Lyds… “ She sighed. “There’s a voice in my head screaming at me for not knowing about this sooner. I mean, I’ve always cared about Stiles, but it’s not like the thought’s ever crossed my mind to do anything about it. Until now, apparently.”

Lydia propped herself up on one elbow, sighing as she looked at Allison. “I feel like I should know Derek better, given how I feel about him. It bothers me that I don’t really know much of anything. I don’t know what he likes, what he hates. I just think - if I could tell him that I’m interested, maybe he’d be interested, too. I just don’t know if I could stomach the idea of taking him away from Stiles, even though I was saying something like that in the car. I’d never be able to follow through on it. Not really. But I’m saying this like it’s an option, like he’s an object I can just pick up and wander off with. I think he and Stiles are probably in love. It would be wrong for me to tell Derek I like him, so I won’t be doing that. But I do need to break up with Jackson.” 

“And I should break up with Scott.” Allison sighed, curling in on herself. “But this cell phone… if Stiles is in love with Derek, then what about everything he wrote here? Unless this is bad fiction gone wrong.” She whined softly, burying her face in her pillow. “I could never come between anyone, but this phone is… I don’t know if it’s proof that Stiles belongs with me, but it’s _something_ , and I want the chance to find out what that something is.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll go back over there.” Lydia yawned. “I’m just going to try to sleep and think about everything going really well.” 

Allison sighed and nodded. “Sounds better than anything else I could think of.” She murmured, and reached behind her to turn off the lamp before curling back up on the bed. “Good night, Lyds.”

Lydia reached toward the head of the bed and grabbed a pillow, pulling it toward herself. “Good night, Allison.”


	19. Auld Lang Syne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No, it doesn’t!” Lydia snapped. “Why the hell would someone go to all of this trouble and leave a second phone, registered to Allison, in her bedroom? If the messages are fake, then it’s about the same thing as someone writing fanfiction about people they know.” 
> 
> “How do you -” Stiles shook his head, deciding not to ask how Lydia knew what fanfiction was. “Nevermind, you’re Lydia, you probably know how the pyramids were actually built. But these are dated and timestamped, all right? I’ve been with Derek this entire time, and Allison’s been with Scott. Do any of us seem like the type to cheat on each other?”

_January 1, 2013_

Stiles ran his fingers through his hair and added coffee grounds to the filter in front of him. He slid the basket back into place and poured water into the machine, turning it on to heat up the plate under the pot. He had meant to get Derek a more modern coffeemaker. He was sure he had thought about it at least a dozen times, but he had ended up giving him some dvds, instead. They felt impersonal, and he was still trying to figure out how he could say he loved Derek when he wasn’t willing to treat him the way he had once treated Lydia. He rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath in. “Derek, do you want coffee?” He called out, opening the fridge. He was hoping to find a birthday cake, even though he wasn't sure turning eighteen deserved cake. Maybe a few lottery tickets, just because, or a Playboy subscription. Either one of those sounded okay. 

"Yeah, actually. Hang on, I'll be right there." Derek called, and a moment later he was entering the kitchen, sidling up behind Stiles and wrapping an arm around his waist. He kissed the back of Stiles' neck before reaching for a mug. "Mm. Morning. Happy New Year." He nuzzled Stiles' neck for a moment. "Any plans on how you want to spend the day?"

Stiles snorted as he turned around to face Derek. “Well, I made it to eighteen, I think that’s an achievement worth celebrating. I’m just wondering where you hid my presents. I know they’re not at Scott’s house, I already checked every hiding place there before I came here last night. I know they’re not upstairs. A different apartment, right? And that’s probably where my cake is.” 

Derek's brows furrowed, even as he smiled in confusion. "Greedy. What, me being your present wasn't enough for you, you want more? I already gave you everything on Christmas, you nut." He nipped at Stiles' neck, abruptly lifting him until Stiles was seated on the edge of the counter. "And I guess we can bake a cake, if you want? Whatever you want to do, Stiles. I was thinking something that would have us breathing a little heavily in the next ten minutes, honestly."

“What the fu- Derek? Oh my god. You actually don’t know.” Stiles stared in disbelief. “Today’s my birthday. My _eighteenth_ birthday. You know, big deal, I can vote in the next election, legally rent porn?” 

"Legally fuck me," Derek added jokingly, then frowned, staring at Stiles. " _Today's_ your birthday? Today. You turned eighteen, literally, hours ago today?" The uncertainty on Derek's face was beginning to turn to a mild panic. "I didn't know that." He wracked his mind, trying to think of any point at which he would have known the date of Stiles' birthday, or when they would have even exchanged the information - and he was coming up blank. "I should have known that. Shouldn't I have known that?"

“Maybe.” Stiles blurted, overwhelmed. “I was already sixteen when you met me, and I turned seventeen kinda quietly, after the nogitsune possessed me and everything. I didn’t feel like celebrating. But these last few months have been really good and I kind of just wanted today, I guess.” 

Derek exhaled softly, lightly reaching for Stiles' cheek, running his thumb along the younger man's cheekbone. "We can give you today. Do you want a party? I can call the pack, I can even bake you a cake if you want. Presents might not be a big thing from me," he looked upset as he said that, sighing. "But I can make it up to you. I swear it feels like something I should've been aware of. We've been together for more than a month, for god's sake."

“I appreciate that you’re trying to fix this.” Stiles said gently. “But no? I mean, I don’t want you to have to scramble to throw something together. I don’t know why nobody else said anything to you. Maybe they thought you already knew. I thought you already knew. I guess we’re all at fault here. Not that - not that there’s a _fault_. It’s a birthday, you didn’t feed me something I’m allergic to.” 

Derek grimaced, his shoulders slumping a little, and he moved forward, resting his forehead against Stiles' forehead. "I'm sorry, anyway. I don't know why I didn't - I should've - I could have at least asked someone, I could have asked you, I just - I'm sorry, Stiles."

“It’s okay.” Stiles grinned easily, needing to lighten the situation. “Hey, if everybody else forgets, it’ll be like I’m in a John Hughes movie. That’s not so bad.” 

Derek shook his head. "Any movie but the one I think you're thinking of." He pressed a kiss to Stiles' mouth. "I'll make this up to you. Unless your dad shoots me."

“My dad’s not going to shoot you for forgetting - or, okay, not knowing my birthday. He’ll probably laugh about it. My dad’s a sadist.” Stiles glanced toward the door when he heard the elevator. “I’d tell you to get that fixed, because it’s annoying, but you pretty much need the extra warning, don’t you?”

"I either get the elevator fixed and constantly need the alarm on, or I can leave it as is." Derek agreed, shrugging. "Not sure who _this_ is, though." He sighed and helped Stiles down from the counter before walking out to the living room and waiting warily at the couch.

Lydia opened the sliding door and waved toward Derek. “Hi. We need to talk to you. Is Stiles here?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles called out, walking into the living room with two cups of coffee. He gave one to Derek and took a sip from the other one. 

Derek took the coffee gratefully and took a careful sip as he looked up at Lydia. "Come on in. Who's 'we'?" He asked.

"Me. Is we, I mean." Allison stepped into the loft behind Lydia, sending Stiles a shy, embarrassed look. "Happy birthday, Stiles." She mumbled softly.

Derek nearly dropped the coffee, blinking in both shock and discomfort. It shouldn't have been a surprise, though, and he relaxed a little - after all, Stiles had been friends with Allison much longer than Derek himself had even been with Stiles. Of course she'd know his birthday. It meant nothing that those had been the first words out of her mouth after seeing his boyfriend.

“Thanks.” Stiles murmured, feeling awkward, which only got worse a moment later when Lydia held a gift bag out to him. 

“Don’t get excited.” Lydia said quickly. “I got you hand cream. I got sick of hearing you whine about paper cuts. Actually, we’re not even here for this, we need to talk about something Allison found. We’re coming to you before we talk to Scott or Jackson because... well, show them.” She looked over at Allison. “This might be the easiest part of our day.” 

Allison smiled back at her weakly, and she reached into her pocket to pull out the spare cell phone. Her hand shook as she handed it to Stiles, unable to look at either Stiles or Derek. "It doesn't mean anything." She said quickly. "We know what we've been doing and what we haven't been doing and I definitely have not been doing..." She trailed off, waving her hand at the phone. "That. Or... that."

Stiles’ eyes widened as he read through some of the texts, and he held the phone back out to Allison. “Okay, so somebody decided to play a joke on us, and they wrote all of these obviously fake messages with one of those phone number-cloaking things, then left it for you to find and freak out over. Because believe me, I didn’t write any of this.” 

Despite herself, Allison felt a shiver of hurt settle in the pit of her stomach. She nodded. "Oh. Right, I didn't think of... The cloaking thing. That makes sense." She stared at the phone for a minute, and then shoved it in her pocket, looking disgusted with herself.

“No, it doesn’t!” Lydia snapped. “Why the hell would someone go to all of this trouble and leave a second phone, registered to Allison, in her bedroom? If the messages are fake, then it’s about the same thing as someone writing fanfiction about people they know.” 

“How do you -” Stiles shook his head, deciding not to ask how Lydia knew what fanfiction was. “Nevermind, you’re Lydia, you probably know how the pyramids were actually built. But these are dated and timestamped, all right? I’ve been with Derek this entire time, and Allison’s been with Scott. Do any of us seem like the type to cheat on each other?” 

“No.” Lydia agreed, frowning. “But the phone was in Allison’s room. How do you explain that? The only person with access to Allison’s room, other than Allison, is Chris. If you really want to imply that her own dad thinks she’s better off with you, and that he’d go to all of this trouble to brainwash her into believing she’s dating you...” 

Derek growled low in his throat. "Enough." He muttered. "Obviously something strange is happening and we seem to be at the center of it. My question is, if the phone is a fake, then who would benefit from planting it? If it's real, then who in the hell would benefit from manipulating us by making us think that Stiles and I are dating and that Allison is with Scott?"

Allison folded her arms across her chest, hunching in on herself and scowling. "To make my life miserable and to make everyone else think that I'm a person who would cheat?" She grumbled bitterly, shooting Lydia a brief scowl.

Derek rubbed his hand over his face with a sigh. "Apart from that." He furrowed his brow and grabbed Stiles' arm. "Or maybe it's just to cause chaos."

Lydia shook her head slightly and gave Allison a frustrated smile. “When you have a phone in a hiding place in your room and it’s full of messages that appear to be between you and Stiles, of course I’m going to think something is going on. And to be fair, you’ve been away from here about as long as you’ve been here.” 

“Okay, stop.” Stiles picked up his cup of coffee and took a long drink from it, then set it back down. “So much for me having a great birthday. It’s fine, I’m over it, let’s just get through this without wanting to murder each other, all right?” His fingers twitched as he looked around the room, trying to find paper and a pen.

Lydia opened her purse and held a marker out to him. “I started carrying these last year, just in case another situation happened like when the school went on lockdown. They’re dry erase. Just go use the window.” 

Stiles nodded gratefully and walked over to the large window on the other side of the room. He uncapped the marker and wrote ‘FAKE’ and ‘REAL,’ underlining each one. He took a step back, lost in thought. 

Lydia took off her shoes and set them near the coat rack, finally hanging up her coat and putting her purse on a lower hook. She walked over to join Stiles by the window, watching as he started adding details to each column.

Stiles finished scrawling _To mess with Allison_ and _To mess with all of us_ under their respective categories. He frowned, then stepped back over to the ‘fake’ column to erase _ison_ and replace it with _of us_. “Either way, this is screwing with the entire pack.” 

Allison sat down and leaned back, watching Stiles and Lydia. "Either way, someone is getting punched in the throat." She quipped, pressing her lips together tightly.

"Agreed." Derek tapped his fingertips against the wall, his eyes on the window. "Add 'making us lose trust in each other' to the..." He trailed off, frowning. "Well, to both columns, I guess."

Stiles nodded and started writing again. He turned to face the other three a moment later. “If Allison and I really are, or were, whatever... if this was a real thing and we don’t remember it, then someone doesn’t want us to remember it. The only person I know that can take memories away from someone is an alpha. But Scott wouldn’t...” He shook his head. “I want to say he wouldn’t, but I remember how he treated Isaac when Isaac and Allison were developing an interest in each other. I know this falls under the whole ‘losing trust’ concept, but can you guys check the back of my neck? And hers?” 

Derek shook his. "I was, uh. Looking at the back of your neck this morning when I came downstairs for coffee. There was nothing there. You're clean."

"Then check the back of my neck just in case." Allison requested, and turned around, lifting her hair up high and piling it on top of her head.

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s shoulders, tugging the collar of her shirt down to make sure he examined the entirety of the back of her neck. He sighed in relief. “You’re good.” He murmured. “Okay, so it wasn’t Scott. Or any other alpha, for that matter. Who has a motive to do this? I mean, we can say Scott does, as far as if the messages are real, but we just eliminated him.” He bit his lip. “Listen, I don’t think we should tell anyone else yet. I trust them, but it’s just going to lead to a lot of hurt feelings and confusion if we talk to Scott before we have a clear idea of what’s going on, and I don’t want that to happen. This is a great birthday, by the way. I’m sick of having my head messed with.” 

“Do you like Allison?” Lydia blurted. “Derek, don’t get mad at me for asking him. I’m focused on this being real. I’m a firm believer in Occam’s Razor, you can’t argue that with me. The simplest answer is usually the right one.” 

Stiles spoke carefully. “Well, I don’t not like her.” 

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Nobody’s asking you to marry her, just admit if you’re interested, even remotely.” 

“If I was single, and she was single, then maybe. Yeah. But only then.” Stiles couldn’t look at Derek, too afraid that he had just ruined his relationship. 

Lydia frowned. The words sounded familiar to her, but she could hear herself saying them, not Stiles. “But you’re with Derek.” She added, like Stiles had forgotten a line in something he was reciting. 

“Yeah. I’m with Derek. If he still wants me, after this conversation.” Stiles muttered. 

Derek was silent, a contemplative expression on his face. "If you still want me, then I'm all for us staying together." He looked at Stiles. "Unless you can think of a reason why we shouldn't be?" He asked hesitantly.

Allison didn't say a word, still standing absolutely still and trying not to shudder at how Stiles' fingers had felt, pulling at her clothes and touching her skin. Her stomach was tied in knots by the time Lydia has asked if Stiles liked her and she was back to shaking as she finally moved away to sit down, drawing her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees, her head resting on top of them. She was still quiet, but it was more out of resignation than anything else. 

“She’s breaking up with Scott.” Lydia didn’t care that it wasn’t her news to tell, or that the two guys in the room didn’t necessarily need to be informed. She hated seeing Allison miserable, and Stiles and Derek had been acting like they were uncomfortable around each other when she and Allison showed up, in the first place. “And I’m breaking up with Jackson. We had a long talk last night about what we want for ourselves in this new year, and neither one of us is content in our relationships. Not to the point where we want to stay in them, at least. But I don’t want them to find out from anyone else, but us. Clearly, I’m mentioning this for a reason.” She gave Stiles a pointed look. 

“Allison?” Stiles frowned. “If this has anything to do with that cell phone... I mean, I want to be with Derek. I don’t want you to think that anything has changed for me.” 

Allison shut her eyes and ducked her head down, letting her hair fall over her face. "I understand." She mumbled. "It wasn't really anything to do with the cell phone. The phone just kind of... Hammered it in. It's cool. It's fine, seriously." She cleared her throat and looked up at Lydia, avoiding Stiles' eyes. "I'm going to go down to the car. Just come down whenever you're ready to go." She stood up, her head lowered, and practically ran out of the loft without waiting for anyone else to respond.

Derek sucked in a deep breath, crossing his arms across his chest and looking down with a sigh.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt her.” Stiles looked worried. “Lydia, should I go talk to her? Or no. Probably not, right? I might make things worse if I say anything else.” 

“One day, I’m going to prove that having testicles causes problems with brain waves.” Lydia muttered. “No, Stiles. You’re not going to talk to her. It’s probably best if you stay away from her for awhile.” She walked over to the coat rack and stepped into her shoes, grabbing her coat. “And for the record, you aren’t the only person who had a horrible birthday because of things going wrong in this town.” She didn’t bother closing the door behind her, too angry to give them the simple courtesy. 

Derek looked over at Stiles and inhaled. "There were probably ways that this could have gone better." He said quietly. He stood up and moved to the loft door, closing it before he made his way back to Stiles. Grabbing his hands, he looked at Stiles seriously. "Are you absolutely sure that I'm what you want?" He asked quietly. "Maybe it doesn't mean much, but I can't... I keep thinking that I didn't even know about your birthday, even though I've known you for almost two years... And Allison's known you for the same amount of time, and it was the first thing out of her mouth the minute she saw you today."

“You’re breaking up with me.” Stiles took a deep breath. “On my birthday, that you either forgot about or didn’t know about, _because_ you forgot about it or didn’t know about it, and you think that it means we’re not supposed to be together.” He sat down and looked up at Derek. “Let me ask you something, and I don’t want you to give me the safe answer, because whatever you say in response? I’m not going to avoid you. I might resort to calling you names or being irritated for a little while, but that’s my right as a person who got dumped. Or mutually broken up with, which I think... is where this is heading. I mean, it’s pretty clear that you feel the same way as me about it, that when you’re with someone, you’re supposed to know when their freaking birthday is. So the fact that you don’t know, or knew and forgot, makes a difference to me. And to you. The stuff that Allison had in those text messages? That wasn’t fake. There were things in there that I haven’t told anyone, so nobody could have made it up. The question, before I get sidetracked any further, is this: do you see yourself with me in a year? Because I don’t want to hurt you by leaving to go find Allison and talk about this, but I don’t think I matter that much to you. Not to the point where you... Derek, I do care about you, and love you, but I don’t think it’s to the extent I made it sound. I saw your face. We all saw how you reacted, I mean, after I said it. You’re not ready to say it back, you didn’t even know my birthday, and there’s... I had something going with Allison. I’m kind of in agreement with Lydia right now, someone’s messing with our memories and I was with Allison. Whether I was with you at the same time or not, I don’t know. But that stuff wasn’t fake. So... okay, I’m going to shut up right now.” He glanced down at his hands on his knees. “I just wanted cake.” He muttered, snorting. 

Derek had gone through a myriad of emotions as Stiles had spoken, from sad to annoyed to outright anger before reverting back to sadness and sympathy. He reached out and put his hands gently over Stiles' hands, squeezing gently. "You need to understand right now: I don't break up with people. I hang on. Probably longer than would actually be healthy but, let's face it." He laughed bitterly. "You're my first solid relationship since I was sixteen. I want to be with you, Stiles. I definitely do not want to break up with you, especially not on your birthday like some lame ass television plot device. I'm just... Trying to make sense of everything, and it's hard because I don’t want to hurt you and Allison, or Lydia or Scott or anyone else. You're right - we are on the same wavelength about what some couples should just know, and I hate myself for not knowing something as simple as your birthday when I could have asked you anytime. But what does it say about me that it never even crossed my mind?" He paused, thinking. "You're also right when you said that I wasn't ready to say I love you. I care about you, and I think it could be more, but I should have been able to come to that realization myself instead of only thinking about it for the first time when you were happy and drunk and blurting it out next to me. I don't like what that says about me, either. As for seeing myself with you in a year... the simple answer is I don't know. I think I could. But I can also see you off at college and hanging out with your new friends and wanting to date while you're there, and I definitely don't see myself as a part of that. Part of me feels like I'd be dragging you down if I tried to be, and I don't want that for you. But I'm also a selfish dick, and I don't want to let you go." He shook his head. "I don't want to hurt Allison, but you and I have - to our knowledge - only been together for a little more than a month. If we want this to be real... I think we deserve the chance to find out, right? Pick out all those tiny little pieces of information that people should know about each other when they're dating?"

“So you - I mean, you see this,” Stiles gestured between himself and Derek. “As having an expiration date? So we’re gonna break up when I go to college? I just want to know what’s going through your head. You’ve never really been the kind of guy to talk. I think what you just said is the most I’ve heard out of you at one time, since we met.” 

Derek rolled his eyes. "I don't usually need to talk. The growling tended to get the message across." He exhaled. "I'm not going to pretend I can see the future. I see us, but whether it's long term or short term, whether we can make it through your college career or if we break up the second you step foot on campus... I don't know. I just know I want to give us an actual try, Stiles."

“I want that, too. I just don’t want to hold on if you’re trying to let go.” Stiles explained. “I don’t want you to feel obligated and I don’t want to get too attached, if you’re not.” He moved to kiss Derek, then walked over to the window and started erasing the writing there. “It doesn’t matter. The cell phone, I mean. I don’t care if it’s real or fake, I don’t care that those messages could have only come from me and I don’t remember sending them. I care about you.” 

Derek took a deep breath and stood up, moving to Stiles and pressing against him, dropping his head against the other man's shoulder. He exhaled softly, kissing Stiles' neck even as he began feeling guilty for doing it. It hadn’t stopped him from doing things that would hurt him before. "I care about you, too." He said honestly, refusing to think about the expression on Allison's face as he spoke. "I want this with you, for however long we can have it. I don't want to put a time limit on it. I just... Can we just play it as it goes?"

Stiles nodded. “Yeah. I’d like that.” He smiled. “But I am gonna go out for a little while, just to go see Scott and my dad, and I’ll come back later.” He hesitated. “Okay?” 

Derek smiled back at him. "Okay." He said, and tugged Stiles close.

***

Lydia squeezed Allison’s hand, then moved aside and sat down on the couch in Scott’s living room. She was there for moral support, and possibly to yell at Scott if things got tense, but she wasn’t leaving until the break-up happened. She expected Allison to do the same for her when she broke up with Jackson, and she thought it was a little funny that they had somehow become the voice of reason for each others’ boyfriends. 

Allison squirmed in her seat, her head lowered. She sniffled a little, looking nervous and sick and terrified all at once. The hand that she didn't have wrapped around Lydia's in a death grip was clenching and unclenching in agitation against the couch cushion before she could even bring herself to look up at Scott, and she did so with a hard swallow.

Scott stated back and forth between Allison and Lydia and then sighed a little, hunching in on himself. "You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" He asked bluntly, looking upset but resigned, like he'd been anticipating it.

“She is.” Lydia spoke for Allison, nodding. “But it’s not meant to hurt you.” She tried to think of what else to say, knowing that Scott was in love with Allison and that neither one of them was happy about the current situation. 

Scott exhaled slowly and looked at Allison. "Will it make you happier, in the end?"

Allison's mouth opened to reply and then clamped shit again, her brow furrowing. "I don't know." She said softly.

"Will it give you time to find out?" Scott asked again, and reached for her hands.

Allison gave them to him and sniffled, her lower lip wobbling as her eyes started to water. "I think so."

Scott squeezed and nodded slowly. "Then... okay." He murmured. "I want you to be happy. If I'm not making you happy, I want you to find whoever does." He nodded once.

Allison burst into tears.

Lydia hugged Allison, then got tissues out of her purse and handed them over. “I’m pretty sure she expected some yelling.” She murmured to Scott. “Today’s just difficult all around. Be careful around Derek and Stiles, by the way. Derek didn’t know that Stiles’ birthday is today.” 

Scott's eyes widened. "He didn't? How is that possible? He drops hints starting on Memorial Day."

Lydia glanced at Allison, silently asking permission to go ahead and tell Scott about the cell phone. She flexed her fingers self-consciously, preparing to grab Scott by an earlobe if he got angry. She still wasn’t sure what was going on, but Allison had been through enough in the past twelve hours. 

Scott recognized the motion and jerked back instinctively, looking alarmed. "Oh, this is gonna be bad, isn't it?" He whined.

Allison couldn't help letting out a snort, but nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna kind of suck." She confirmed.

“Last night, we left so that we could talk about certain situations - oh, fine. Our relationships with you and Jackson.” Lydia explained. “Allison found a phone in her bedroom that she didn’t recognize, and it had text messages between her and another pack member, whose name I’m not giving you just yet. She and this other person don’t remember texting each other, but there would be no point in someone creating a series of fake messages and hiding the phone in Allison’s room.”

Scott looked confused. "So Allison's been talking to someone but she doesn't remember who that someone is and there are... uh, scandalous text messages?" He looked at Allison in askance.

Allison shook her head. "I don't remember any of it. I didn't even know I had a spare phone. I wouldn't cheat on you, or anyone, I swear."

"I know you wouldn't," Scott replied earnestly. "But it sounds like someone is messing with either your memory, or everyone else's. At the very least, maybe someone is trying to hide that relationship from you, and that's why you don't remember the text messages."

“But why would they hide it? That’s what I don’t understand.” Lydia interjected. “Nobody in the pack benefits from this. If anything, we’re all actually not doing so well, but we’re just not admitting it to ourselves.” She sighed, thinking once again of Derek and the way he had been looking at Stiles. “I’d rather be single than lead Jackson on, when I’m doubting my own interest in him.” 

Scott grimaced, shaking his head. "I don't know that much, Lyds. Maybe something bad happened and we did it to ourselves, or maybe it was a good thing and someone got pissed off or jealous and did it to get back at you."

Lydia sat up, looking terrified. “You think we altered our own memories? Why the hell would we do that?” She looked over at Allison. “Do you think _he_ suggested it?”

Allison looked ill, but shook her head. It didn't change her uncertainty. "No. He couldn't have." She said softly. 

Scott frowned. "Who?" He asked, confused.

“Hold on.” Lydia murmured, getting up and grasping Scott’s earlobe. “Stiles.” She looked down at him. “Are you going to stay calm?” 

Scott stared at her, uncomprehending. "... Why would I not be?" He grimaced, wiggling and trying to squirm out of Lydia's grip, then blinked. "Wait, you think Stiles suggested that you erase your memories? Why would he do that?"

“Scott.” Lydia sighed. “Stiles was the person that Allison was communicating with.” 

"Oh." Scott was quiet for a moment, then felt his eye twitch. "Um. Okay." He looked at Allison, then scowled down at his hands, sighing. "I guess."

Allison looked apologetic. "Scott, I _swear_ nothing happened -"

"I _know_ , Allison." Scott interrupted patiently. "I just... I didn't really expect that. Does he know?"

Allison went quiet, and looked down at her own hands. "He knows." She said softly. "He doesn't care. He's with Derek."

“He does care.” Lydia corrected, letting go of Scott’s earlobe. “ _But_ he’s with Derek and doesn’t want to break up with him.” 

Allison shook her head. "Doesn't matter." She mumbled.

Scott patted her leg. "It matters." He told her quietly. "Stiles is sure about pretty much everything. If he cares, but he's staying with Derek, he's trying to figure out what's really there in between them before he drops everything and runs right to you."

“Any tips on how to speed that up?” Lydia knew that Scott wasn’t necessarily the person to ask, since Allison had just broken up with him. But she was determined to get Derek to notice her. She would wait for him to be over Stiles, since that was the right thing to do, but she was growing impatient. Every hour felt like a month.

Scott shrugged. "Getting Allison to notice me involved handing her a pen. Who knows what will get Stiles' attention?"

Lydia stood up. “Okay, well... it’s Allison’s turn to go deliver some bad news. I’m glad we don’t have school until next Monday. I’ll probably disappear for a day or two.” 

Scott stood up as well, nodding slowly. "I'll understand if you do. But if you have any trouble at all, just let me know. I'll help you out." He moved forward and wrapped his arms around Lydia, hugging her and resting his cheek against her head. "Drive safely." He murmured. 

Lydia gave Scott a skeptical look. “How are you so calm? Not that I want you to be angry or having trouble controlling your shifting, but I expected more than quiet acceptance.” 

"I have absolutely no idea." Scott replied, grimacing. "I kinda figured I would be, too, but there's just... I don't know. I don't feel like an out of control rage monster. I just feel kinda sad, and mostly sympathetic because two of my pack members are hurting. I can put whatever I feel to the side until I figure out how to make you two feel better."

Lydia hugged Scott. “Thank you.” She sighed. “The rest of this day is going to suck, and we need to figure out how to cheer Stiles up.” 

"I was thinking of maybe all of us getting together for movies and just relaxing for his birthday. That's what he and I always used to do before..." Scott waved his hand around, indicating the entire shitstorm of having been bitten.

Allison scuffed her feet against the floor. "I think that could be fun." She mumbled softly.

“So we’ll meet up at Derek’s with some of Stiles’ favorite movies?” Lydia suggested. 

Scott nodded, smiling. "And his favorite snacks and drinks. And his birthday cake. Ally's been hiding the one I got him in the fridge at her apartment. And his presents, too." He turned to Allison and smiled at her. "Don't forget them?" He pleaded, reaching out to hug her gently.

Allison nodded against his shoulder. "I won't."

As she got into the car, Lydia was still marveling at how well that had gone, even though she knew Allison and Scott were both still upset about it. She sent Jackson a text to let him know that she was on her way over to talk to him. 

Allison took hold of Lydia's phone for a moment, sitting in the car as she waited for Jackson's reply before she promptly typed back, 'Allison's coming with, jsyk.' She handed the phone back to Lydia and rubbed her hands over her eyes. "Ready to go?" She asked softly.

Lydia nodded, then shook her head. “No, not really. But I need to do this. I’ll try to tell him myself. I don’t want you to think I’m expecting you to step in. I just don’t know if I can say it without him getting pissed off.” 

"I still think the best option is to yell it at his bedroom window and run." Allison mumbled and shifted the car into drive.

Lydia giggled. “You know what? I might do that.” She grinned, pressing her palm against her mouth. 

Allison snorted helplessly and started laughing, too, her shoulders shaking as she drove. "We should probably find a hiding place if you do, because you won't be able to go back to your house without Jackson hunting you down."

“I could ask to use his bathroom, write it in lipstick on the mirror and leave.” Lydia remarked. “Or on his car windshield.” 

Allison grimaced. "Maybe the bathroom mirror. If you touch his Porsche, he's going to be more pissed about the car than he will be about you." She debated her words for a moment, then shrugged. "Then again, he _has_ changed a lot. Maybe the car would mean less."

“Or I could pretend to be a civilized person and break up with him, face to face and without immaturity. No matter how funny it sounds.” Lydia got a breath mint out of her purse and put it in her mouth, closing her eyes. 

Allison reached out to touch Lydia's hand, squeezing gently. "Yeah, you could do that, too." She said softly. "And I'll be there to help you." She pulled into Jackson's driveway with a sigh.

Lydia got out and walked up to Jackson’s front door, knocking and taking a step back to wait for him to answer. 

Jackson opened the door a moment later, smiling down at Lydia. "Hey." He nodded at Allison, then gestured for them both to come inside.

Lydia walked into the house. “We won’t be long, unless you really want us to stay. You probably won’t.” 

"Yeah? Why do you say that?" Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Okay.” Lydia said quietly. “I want to break up with you. It’s not even that you did anything wrong, I just feel like there’s... a possibility of someone else. And as long as I feel that way, I don’t think it’s fair of me to keep dating you.”

"Someone else?" Jackson frowned. "Someone else like who? Who the hell are you interested in?" He stared at her in disbelief. "You're breaking up with me the day after you made a resolution to fight less with me after we finally got a second chance. How am I supposed to feel about this, Lyds? If you weren't sure about us, why didn't you say anything before?"

“I don’t know.” Lydia hated that phrase, but she really wasn’t sure how else to answer. “Jackson, I care about you, I’m just trying to be reasonable.” 

Jackson scoffed. "The bad part is, I know you are. It doesn't change anything. You gave me a second chance and now you're ripping it away from us because I, what? Bore you now? Is that what it is? Am I boring now, Lydia? I'm not enough for you anymore, you want to go out and find someone better?" His voice wavered. "Leave. I don't even want an answer, I can't fucking look at you right now without wanting to scream. Just go, alright?"

Lydia turned and walked back outside, her expression blank until she got into Allison’s car, where she burst into tears and put her hands over her face. Once more, she had expected anger and yelling, and she was beginning to wonder why she thought that reaction was normal.

Allison slipped her arm around Lydia, hugging the other girl tightly. She wasn't even sure what to say, but she was desperate to comfort her friend. She huffed out a wet laugh. "I don't think today was anything like either of us expected." She mumbled.

“No, it wasn’t. P-poor Stiles and Derek forgot his birthday, and Scott’s being nice and Jackson asked me to go, and I’m supposed to be good at being in charge at parties and I just want to go home.” Lydia wiped tears out of her eyes. “I want my new, warm pajamas and a good movie.” 

Allison rested her head against Lydia's, hugging the other girl close. "We can do that. But let's do it while we're being there for Stiles, okay? At least for one movie, because I'm not sure how much of the Derek and Stiles Show I'll be able to take without crying."

Lydia nodded. “I feel the same way. If you want to leave, just let me know, and I’ll do the same with you.” She pressed her lips together and breathed in and out slowly. “But we don’t have to let ourselves look miserable when we go back over. I say we turn this into a pajama party, anyway. If we end up having fun, we can stay there. If we don’t, we’ll leave.” 

Allison nodded, giving the other girl a weak smile. "Sounds good to me. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun?" She said, and exhaled loudly. "Okay. Let's go get our stuff and Stiles' stuff, and go pretend not to be miserable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhere on Lydia's computer, there is a crossover fanfic between The Little Mermaid and Phantom of the Opera, since both of them have a character named Eric, albeit with different spelling. 
> 
> By the way, has anyone else noticed Hoechlin's Prince Eric hair?


	20. A Small Price to Pay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia walked out of the apartment, her fingers shaking as she sent Deaton a text message. ‘Something is wrong. I need to talk to you.’ 
> 
> ‘I can meet you at the clinic. Come around the back.’ Deaton’s reply read, and he sent nothing else.

Lydia checked her lip gloss in her compact, then closed it and dropped it back into her purse before she got out of Allison’s car. It was cold, but she was wearing a new pair of pajamas under her long coat. They were gray and had ‘95’ on the shirt, in a pink outline. The top was long-sleeved and she decided to wear the matching gray shorts instead of the pink pants that had also come with the shirt. Her hair was up in a bun and she had a pink scarf tied around it. She hadn’t made this much effort in a while, and it felt good to go back to her old routine and know that, even if it only lasted a few seconds, everyone’s eyes would be on her. 

Allison had opted for her usual high top knot ponytail, as well as a regular t-shirt and a pair of palazzo pants that she'd received as a gift from her mother ages ago. They made her feel particularly girly, with the way they swished around her legs like a long skirt. She wore a hoodie over her t-shirt and pink lip gloss on her lips, but that was all. She wasn't expecting to be noticed; she just wanted one semblance of being comfortable in what was bound to be an otherwise very uncomfortable situation. She got out of the car as well, resisting the urge to stuff her hands in her pockets, and bent into the back of the car, picking up the things that Scott had requested of her. She looked at Lydia over the top of the car and sighed. "Okay. Are we thinking about hitting the panic button two hours in, or sooner?"

“As soon as the first movie’s final credits start rolling, we’ll make a decision.” Lydia helped gather things for the party and bumped the other back door of the car shut with her hip. “Maybe a miracle will happen and the...” She glanced up toward Derek’s apartment window, not wanting to finish her sentence, just in case they could be heard. “...party will be really fun.” 

Allison made a face. "Yeah, of course." She nodded, her voice filled with fake cheer. Her expression was another matter, and she trudged unhappily toward the building's front doors, pushing her way past them and holding the door open with one foot for Lydia.

“Thanks.” Lydia smiled gratefully, even though it faded a second later as she followed Allison to the elevator. “Okay.” She whispered, not caring if the werewolves could hear her, but not wanting Stiles to. “We’re going to be the happiest two girls in the room, which isn’t exactly hard when the only other one is Malia, but whatever, we’re doing this.” 

Allison snorted. "She's so dour sometimes." She whispered, then made a face again. "She kind of reminds me of my mom sometimes, actually." Shaking her head at the odd thought, she started up the stairs. "Whatever. Let's get going."

“Why would she remind you of your mom?” Lydia frowned at the stairs, then looked back at the elevator before she sighed and stepped out of her shoes, picking them up carefully and carrying them on top of the small stack of dvds she had in her hands. 

Allison stopped when the _click-clack_ of Lydia's shoes stopped and she turned to face her friend. "Oh my god, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry." She shook her head and stepped carefully back down to get to the elevator. She shook her head. "And I don't know, really. My mom was always so serious. It just seems familiar, I guess."

“You’re not an idiot.” Lydia smiled fondly at Allison. “I’m the one wearing pajamas and heels. I’m going to start wearing sneakers more often. It’s going on my list of resolutions, since I already broke at least one of them.” 

Allison's face softened. "He just said that out of anger. Your resolution said that you weren't going to argue with him, not that you weren't going to break up with him. He wasn't making you happy, and he'll understand that, especially if he really does love you."

Lydia sighed. “I really hope you’re right about that.” She walked out of the elevator and knocked on the apartment door, biting the tip of her tongue. Either Stiles or Derek would be opening the door, and it was going to be difficult for everybody.

Scott threw the door open, then darted out behind Lydia and Allison, hustling them inside quickly. "Stiles is gonna be gone for maybe thirty more minutes, move move move!"

Lydia burst out laughing. “Okay. Calm down, Scott. What do you need?” She took off her coat and hung it up, pushing her sleeves up past her elbows. 

"Balloons need to be hung, cake on the table, Derek needs to be smiling, presents on the table surrounding the cake, and Malia needs to stop doing whatever it is she's doing to Liam so that all of us can shut the lights off and pretend to be asleep, so we can scare the freaking hell out of Stiles when he comes back." Scott exhaled finally, blinking at Lydia and Allison. "Aww. You have cute jammies."

Lydia patted Scott’s cheek and set the dvds down near the tv. “Malia, start hanging up balloons. Allison, cake on the table. Liam, push the couch back and spread blankets out on the floor. Scott, go find pillows.” She looked up at Derek. “Why aren’t you smiling? Your boyfriend is legal. Be happy, damn you.” 

Derek did smile - not at the thought of Stiles, but at Lydia's words. "I should be." He said quietly. "We're supposed to try being... We're supposed to try. And I'm enthusiastic about it, really, but..." He looked off to the side, where Allison had wandered off to set the cake on the table, and frowned. "I feel guilty."

“You think he’d be happier in a different situation?” Lydia asked, opening a dvd case and setting the dvd up to play. She didn’t even care what it was, she just wanted to be doing something, so that she didn’t have to make eye contact with Derek. 

Derek let out a frustrated sigh. "When I told him my concern about... Not even knowing his birthday, but Allison remembering it at the drop of a hat and without being prompted, he thought I was breaking up with him. I wasn't. I don't want to, I want to give us a chance. So I asked him if we could just let it be what it was without any sort of time limit, and he agreed." He sighed. "I don't know if he'd be happier in a different situation or not, but I don't want our situation to end up making him unhappy."

“Today is just one day.” Lydia said gently, glancing up at Derek as she stood up, closing the dvd case in her hands. “You can’t let one day set you back too far, or you just won’t move forward.” She realized that she had needed to hear the words as much as she had needed to say them. She hoped Allison would forgive her, but she didn’t think she wanted Stiles and Derek to break up, anymore. Not if they were both happy. “Today has been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone, but we have three hundred and sixty-four to go, in this year. It’ll work out, however it’s supposed to work out.” 

Derek was silent for a moment. "And what if it doesn't work out?" He asked softly.

“Between you and Stiles?” Lydia murmured. “Then you’ll wake up and find something to do to distract yourself, and hours will pass, however slowly. Then days. Weeks. You’ll meet someone new and they’ll say just the right thing, and you won’t realize until later that they made you smile for the first time in a long time. And you’ll see them again. And again. You’ll move on.” 

Derek stared at Lydia, then breathed. "Jesus, Lydia." He murmured, and then stood up so that he could properly hug her. "Thank you."

Lydia nodded as she hugged back. “You’re welcome.” She pulled back, going into the kitchen to make sure the cake had enough candles. Her hands shook a little, but she rested them on the table, closing her eyes as she tried to steady herself. 

Malia nudged Lydia. “I know we’re supposed to pretend to be asleep, but not while we’re standing up in the kitchen.” 

Lydia laughed and tilted her head, dabbing at the outer corner of her eye with her index finger. “I was just taking a minute for myself. Sorry. How are the balloons?” 

“I don’t like them. I tore one with one of my claws.” Malia held her hands up to show the sharp nails to Lydia. “I didn’t do it on purpose. You smell like saltwater. I mean, you always do, but it’s really strong right now. Did you go swimming at the beach before you got here?” 

“No.” Lydia said quietly. “Please don’t mention it to anyone else. I’m going to be fine. I’m just a little emotional today, that’s all.” 

Liam snuck up behind Malia, dropping all of his weight on her back in an attempt to surprise her. He didn't pay much attention to Lydia until he heard her last sentence. "Are you okay? Do you want ice cream? I can get you some, Derek and Scott bought, like, six gallons." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the kitchen.

"That's hardly surprising." Lydia smiled. "But no, thank you. Getting bloated on dairy products won't make me feel better." She glanced toward Derek, even as she told herself not to do it.

Liam looked at Malia, but at least gave Lydia the courtesy of not following her gaze. "Well, okay, but the offer is still open. Malia, come on, I'll switch you balloon duty."

"I don't like parties." Malia followed Liam back into the living room. "But when it's my birthday, I want meat instead of cake."

Liam looked back at her warily. "Um. Okay? I guess we can do that. Do you want any sort of meat in particular?"

"Deer meat." Malia looked wistful. "I asked for some at school once, and the cafeteria ladies sent me to the principal's office."

Liam had an alarmed expression on his face. "I'm, uh, okay. W-We can... Do that. Get that. I'm gonna go ask Scott about it for you, okay? Okay." He barreled into the living room.

Allison approached Malia from behind, watching Liam's trajectory in amusement. "He still hasn't gotten used to the whole 'I used to be a real wild animal in the wild' thing, has he?"

Malia shook her head and turned toward Allison. "But it's okay, I'm trying to understand these human conventions, like dating. I think I'd like to date Scott, since you're done with him now."

Allison blinked. "How did you... Wait, what?" Somewhere in the back of her mind was the sound of Porky Pig stuttering his way around a sentence. "You want Scott? What brought that on?" She hesitated, her eyes widening. "Does he know you do?"

"I don't know. I haven't told him." Malia shrugged. "But he's nice and I like his eyes."

Allison smiled faintly and nodded. "Scott _does_ have nice eyes." She agreed. She looked at Malia, then looked across the room at Scott. "I say go for it." She looked down at Malia. "But, uh, break up with Liam before you do anything, okay?"

"Right." Malia walked over to Liam. "I don't want to date you anymore." She patted his shoulder and walked over to Scott. "Hi."

Liam blinked and looked up at Derek in confusion. "What just happened?"

Derek grinned a little sympathetically, patting Liam's shoulder. "You just got dumped, kiddo. Sorry."

Liam made a face, then shrugged. "It's okay. She still kind of scares me a little."

Scott blinked down at Malia. "Hi. What's up?"

"You're not dating Allison. So you can date me now. If you want to." Malia looked uncertain. "Do you?"

"Oh, uh." Scott looked past her at Allison, and then back at Malia before raising his eyebrows. "Um... We, uh - you know what?" He glanced at Allison again, as if to gain approval, and then nodded at Malia. "Yeah. Totally. We can date. Wait, what do we smell like together? I feel like that's important. Is it important?"

Malia smiled. "It's important. But I don't know what my scent is." She tilted her head. "Can you tell me?"

Scott's mouth went a little dry and he cleared his throat, stepping closer and pressing his nose to Malia's throat, breathing in deeply, once. His eyes closed. "You smell sort of... spicy? Like... I don't know what it's called, they make incense out of it, I think? And there's a kind of flowery smell, too. Jasmine, I think? And there's another flower smell but it's kind of - it's like roses? But lemony? I don't know what it is." He looked at Malia as he opened his eyes. "But it smells _good_."

"You smell like leather and sandalwood." Malia leaned toward Scott to smell him. "And a restaurant." She smiled. "A good restaurant." 

Scott looked confounded. "A restaurant?" He scrunched his eyebrows together, then shrugged. "Okay. At least it's a good one. Oh! That's what the one smell is, the incense smell. Sandalwood." He grinned at her, looking pleased.

“So our scents match?” Malia nodded. “Well, that’s good news. You should kiss me now. If you want to. I’d ask if you wanted to go hunting, but I guess we’re supposed to stand around and watch Stiles take paper off of things.” 

Scott grinned, unable to help himself. "Yeah, well, we got Stiles presents and we wanna see his reaction when he opens them. There's usually tackling involved if he really likes it. But yeah." He waited a beat, and then grabbed Malia's wrist, dragging her toward him to kiss her softly.

Malia kissed back, gripping Scott’s biceps. When she pulled away, she smiled. “That was good. We should do that a lot. I don’t have money. I told Stiles once that if I did, I’d get him things. But I don’t think I can have a job. People annoy me too much.” 

Scott laughed and slid his arms around her waist. Tilting his head, he looked thoughtful. "Well... What about animals? Isaac is planning to come back and work at Deaton's clinic with me. Maybe I can talk to Deaton and see if we couldn't get you a job there, too. Most of the actual medical stuff, I take care of so you wouldn't have to give the animals shots or wrap their limbs in casts or anything, but Deaton doesn't have a receptionist, and we have a _lot_ of animals that need to be fed and stuff."

“Okay.” Malia nodded. “I can feed them and Isaac can talk to people, maybe. Unless he doesn’t want to. But I don’t want to deal with sick animals. I don’t think I’m allowed to, anyway. When I was a coyote, I looked for weaker animals that I could steal from or overpower. I don’t know why people insist on putting a cast on an animal’s broken leg. They were stupid and got it broken. They should deal with it on their own.” 

“They don’t have jobs or money, either.” Lydia explained patiently, sitting down on the floor. “They can’t afford their own casts.” 

“Well, that’s stupid, too. I see animals in commercials and on movies all the time. If they’re not getting paid, they should just bite their directors.” Malia retorted. 

"We're, uh, we'll talk about this some other time." Scott laughed nervously, and slung his arm around Malia's shoulders. "Come on, we can go, uh. Scare Stiles on his way up."

Allison shook her head, watching the two of them, then laughed quietly, dropping down beside Lydia and curling into the other girl's side with a sigh. "I kind of feel like Scott is walking around with a live grenade in his hands."

“If anyone can make her behave herself in social situations, it’s Scott.” Lydia mused. “She went back to human form because of his alpha roar, anyway. Meanwhile, you and I need to figure out what we’re doing. I refuse to go to Prom by myself.” 

Allison snorted. "Let's just go together. It's not like anyone would ever question anything you do - showing up with me as your date, everyone would probably just blink and go back to dancing."

Lydia leaned back on her hands as she thought it over. “All right, anyone we’re dating at the time will just have to get over it. You’re not wearing the same color dress as me, and I still expect a corsage.” She laughed. “But I’ll get you one, too.” 

Allison grinned. "Deal. Shake on it?" She held her hand out, beaming at her best friend.

Lydia shook Allison’s hand. “What did you get for Stiles?” 

"I was going to be funny and get him a zombie survival kit but... We already have to deal with this stuff every day and I didn't want to invite trouble. More trouble." Allison shook her head. "Anyway, I found this striped box under my bed and it was full of a bunch of construction paper scraps so I emptied it out. There's a Star Wars t-shirt in there, and a leather wallet with Marvel comics stuff drawn on the inside. I found stickers - I don't even remember buying them, but I found them, too, and threw them in the box for filler, but I also got him this World of Warcraft thing. He told me he played it once. I don't know if he still does, but..." She trailed off, sighing and flushing in embarrassment. "I'm in so deep."

“You really are.” Lydia murmured. “I’ve got the same problem.” She grimaced and laid back, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Especially not where she knew Derek could hear every word. “Maybe the Whittemores will let me live with them for a semester.” She snorted. 

Allison dropped her head back against the couch. "I thought they didn't like you or blamed you for that thing with Jackson in sophomore year or something?" She asked, frowning at the ceiling.

“I wasn’t serious, Allison. I’d rather live with my father than the Whittemores, anyway, and I don’t want anything to do with him. He always liked my sister better, and that’s fine because now she acts like our mother is a demon.” Lydia muttered. 

Allison's frown deepened. "Your mom isn't a demon. If anyone is, it's your dad. He's such a jerk."

“I know.” Lydia turned her head to look at Allison. “So my biological family got split right down the middle, and I don’t even care. I’m more concerned about this one. I don’t know who made us forget that you and Stiles were together, or _are_ together, but Scott’s fine with Malia, so it wasn’t him. Derek’s too distraught over having not known today is Stiles’ birthday for it to be him. It obviously wasn’t me, and I don’t think Liam would have the first clue what he was doing with a spell or hex like that.” 

Allison sighed. "I don't think he's got a cruel bone in his body to do anything like that anyway. As pissed off as Jackson was about your break up, I don't think it was him because what would he even gain from me forgetting about Stiles? And Isaac and I have been over each other for ages, so it wasn't him and it obviously wasn’t me. I can only think that it's outside forces, but who has a grudge against me or Stiles that's so deep that they'd want this?"

“Most of the people who felt that way are dead.” Lydia muttered. She groaned a moment later and pulled a pillow over her face, screaming into it. 

Allison glanced at her warily. "Since my ears don't feel like they're bleeding, I'm going to assume that was a regular scream." She murmured, and gently patted Lydia's shoulder. "We'll figure this out. And we'll either get the chance to be happy again, or we won't. And then we can beat the utter hell out of the clowns that did this to us until we feel better."

Lydia shoved the pillow aside and sat up. “I would definitely enjoy that. But for now, I’m going to make sure we have enough to drink around here. Nonalcoholic. Can you be a designated driver for me again tonight? I’m just... I know I’m not being fair.” 

Allison smiled weakly and shrugged. "It's okay. I don't feel much like drinking anyway. I feel like I'd be too tempted to drink everything, and end up staying the night here."

“I’m only having two glasses of wine.” Lydia murmured. “For that same reason.” She got up and went into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of wine and sipping it, hoping it would ease her anxiety. She didn’t want to keep looking at Derek and feeling idiotic. She made fun of girls for that.

Allison climbed up on to the couch and sprawled across it, deliberately leaving only room for Lydia to sit down. She was well aware of how ridiculous she was being at how desperately she was clinging to the other girl, but she felt like Lydia was - to put it in werewolf terms - her anchor, the only thing that kept her from wallowing completely. A voice in her head kept asking what she thought she was even doing here, and the only suitable answer she even had was 'being a glutton for punishment.’ 

Lydia carried her glass and a can of soda back into the room, handing the can to Allison. She glanced around once more, hoping to find something she thought needed to be done differently around the apartment, but everything looked good. “Damn it. Okay, we’re leaving.” She stood up. 

Allison practically fell off of the couch in her scramble to get up. "Good. I don't really - I don't want to be here when he opens presents." She mumbled. She looked around as she went for her coat and caught Derek's stare - or rather the expression on his face as he stared at Lydia. She frowned and gathered her shoes and coat before making her way back to the redhead. She debated for a moment whether or not to say something to Lydia before she sighed and murmured, "Derek's watching you."

Lydia glanced over at Derek, making eye contact with him. She smiled faintly at the expression on his face. Whatever he said about himself and Stiles, that wasn’t the way a man looked at other people when he was happy in his relationship. 

Derek looked startled, straightening up a bit. He swallowed nervously, but gave Lydia a small smile in return.

Allison watched quietly, and smiled sadly. “That’s so - he’s so stupidly cute.” She sighed. She shook her head and linked her arm around Lydia’s. “Come on. I want to escape before Stiles gets here, otherwise he’s going to ask where we’re going and then I’ll feel obligated to stay and I’ll give you that stare to beg you to stay with me.”

“Can you just wait a second?” Lydia asked quietly, not taking her eyes off of Derek. “This might be interesting.” 

Allison fidgeted nervously, but sighed. “Okay. Make it quick? Please?”

“I’ll try.” Lydia muttered. “If he doesn’t come over here in five seconds, I’m leaving. I know you can hear me, Derek. One, two, three...”

Allison jumped in place, stunned, when two seconds from five, Derek practically apparated in front of them. Her eyes widened, and she sat down, her hands folded in her lap, and then groaned and slumped. “This isn’t going to be quick, is it?” She mumbled.

***  
 _  
“They’ve put themselves back together too quickly. If we wait another five minutes, this punishment we set in place for them won’t be much of a punishment at all.” Alecto frowned. “We need a new plan. I want them to suffer for at least a month, since that’s about how long the Fates helped them along, when they shouldn’t have.”_

_Megaera’s fingers were clenched together like claws as she watched the teenagers, a sneer on her face. “I don’t understand why we can’t just wipe them out. It isn’t as if we would be out of line - they were dead to begin with, after all.” Her indigo eyes flashed with bloodlust._

_“Because Alaunus threatened us.” Tisiphone said quietly. “And if you undo what the Fates did, I’ll have to be the one to punish the two of you. I don’t relish the idea of that.”_

_“We’ll just have to drive a bigger wedge between all of them.” Alecto smiled and snapped her fingers._

__

***

Stiles tore the paper off of the gift from Allison. He opened the box and held up the World of Warcraft coasters she had given him. “That’s cute, Allison. I guess I can use these when I’m in my room, being absolutely useless and not welcome to spend time with the rest of you.” 

Allison stiffened, narrowing her eyes at Stiles. “Given how often you’re in your room, I doubt you’d bother using them at all. We all know what you get up to when you’re in there - you never stop telling anyone. If you didn’t like my present, you could have just said so a week ago, and I wouldn’t have wasted my time.” She snapped, shoving the box off the counter with the swipe of one hand.

Lydia rolled her eyes. Something felt a little bit wrong, but she didn’t want to be anywhere near the rest of the pack. She felt like they barely deserved to refer to themselves that way. They were really just a group of people who ended up dealing with the same horrific situations all the time. Other than that, they had nothing in common. “I’m leaving.” She announced. “This is boring and I could have done a better job. Honestly, balloons? I thought Stiles was turning eighteen, not five.” 

Scott looked distraught and hurt. “I thought it was fun - it was supposed to be a surprise party, and I… I mean, Stiles and I always did this for each other, I just thought that maybe…”

“You thought that maybe, what?” Derek interrupted, glowering at the young Alpha. “You thought it would be cute to cling to childhood traditions? You thought it would be funny to make it seem like Stiles is regressing in age, instead of getting older? It was a stupid idea, Scott, and I should have stopped you the second you suggested it, but I thought, ‘nah, I’ll let him have this one. It’s not like he’s got much else to get excited about these days.’”

Scott’s wounded look had disappeared the moment Derek had begun to talk, and his eyes were glowing crimson, a low snarl emanating from the depths of his throat. 

Lydia burst out laughing as she put her coat back on. “I’m getting as far away from here as I can when I graduate, and I’m not coming back.” 

Allison sneered at her, waving her fingers mockingly. “Good riddance. Beacon Hills is fucked up enough without having the resident nut job screaming the second a squirrel looks at her funny.”

“Well, we can’t all be psychotic murderers, Allison.” Lydia walked out of the apartment, her fingers shaking as she sent Deaton a text message. ‘Something is wrong. I need to talk to you.’ 

‘I can meet you at the clinic. Come around the back.’ Deaton’s reply read, and he sent nothing else.

Lydia drove to the clinic and let herself in through the back entrance, making a face when she realized she was still wearing her pajamas. “We’re all fighting and it feels wrong, like someone or something is messing with us. The things that we just said to each other aren’t normal. It sounded like every negative thought we could have ever had about ourselves was coming from someone else’s mouth.” 

“Odd.” Deaton murmured, coming around the exam table. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he was peering at Lydia with a clinical expression on his otherwise blank face. “What’s been said? When did it start?”

“I’m not sure when it started. It felt... it just felt wrong.” Lydia sighed. “I know that answer isn’t helpful at all. Allison called me a nut job and I said she was psychotic. Derek was being awful to Scott, and Allison was talking about Stiles’ verbal tics.” 

“Did it just affect the four of you?” Deaton asked curiously. “You say Allison called you a ‘nut job’, and earlier you mentioned that it seemed like negative thoughts that you’ve had about yourself. Do you think, perhaps, that something could have been cast on you, projecting your worst feelings about yourself into the heads of the people you care for the most?”

“With all due respect, if I had even the slightest idea why I think everything is going wrong, I wouldn’t be asking you to explain it to me.” Lydia frowned. “Can you just do something and see if magic was used on me at all? If it was, we can undo it and make everything normal. Or better. I prefer better.” 

Deaton looked sympathetic. “I’m not sure I _can_ make things better. It all depends on what was done to you. I will do my best, however. Come, sit at my desk. I’ll need to gather a few things in order to do some tests.”

Lydia nodded and followed Deaton, hoping that everyone else had the good sense to get out of Derek’s apartment before they started physically fighting. “I think whatever happened, maybe I’m partially immune to it, the way I was to Peter’s bite. I know something is wrong, I just don’t know what.” 

“That’s entirely likely. As a banshee, you have an immunity to a great number of things that werewolves like your friends would not have.” Deaton agreed, and grabbed a few bottles from one of his cabinets, setting them down on the counter. He mixed several things together, pouring them in from different bottles and jars before he lit the entire mixture on fire. It put itself out in less than a second, and he moved toward Lydia with it. “This will allow me to see if a spell has, perhaps, been cast on you. You’ll be able to see it - it will appear as a vague greenish-yellow mist around you, so keep an eye on your hands.”

Lydia held her hands out, eyeing the veterinarian warily. “Is this going to burn or sting at all?” 

“Not at - well, it might tingle a bit, honestly.” Deaton admitted. “You might feel like you’ve just put Vaporub up your nose.” 

Lydia sighed. “That’s not so bad.” She held her hands still, staring down at them. 

Deaton ducked his head to look at her after a confused moment. “You need to inhale it.” He said kindly, and then gently nudged the bowl toward her.

“Oh.” Lydia grimaced and lifted the bowl, breathing in. Her eyes stung a little, and she closed them, making an irritated noise when they welled up with tears, anyway. After a long moment of breathing in whatever the mixture was, she set the bowl down and glanced at her hands once again. The color that Deaton had described as a vague mist looked more like she had dipped her hands in paint. “Given the results, I’d say that’s a definitive yes.” She looked up at him. “How do I find out who did this? How do I stop them from doing it again?” 

“Oh, dear.” Deaton murmured, looking alarmed. “Whatever this spell is, it’s… exceedingly powerful. It _should_ have only been a mist. Whoever has done this - well, we’ll need to go to the extreme to reverse this. To uncover the perpetrators as well, I believe.” He reached for the cabinet above him once more, but his hand hesitated at the door for a brief moment, and then continued until he pulled down a flask made from the iridescent shell of an abalone. He shook his head and carefully set the flask down on the counter in front of Lydia. There were odd etchings on the flask, barely visible amidst the swirls and whorls of color, and Deaton turned it away from Lydia before lowering himself onto a stool to look at her properly. “I may have a way. But you may not like the price.”

“We’re talking about a spell that was done to me and the rest of the pack by something or someone incredibly powerful. I don’t want to find myself screaming in another day or two as one of them dies. I’ll do what’s necessary to prevent it from happening.” Lydia spoke calmly, now ignoring the glow coming from her hands. “Just tell me what’s required of me.” 

“Precisely that.” Deaton sighed. “Your scream. Or rather, your voice.” He tapped the flask. “I may be able to find who is behind this, but I’ll need your voice to do it.” He pressed his lips together and looked down. “I just… can’t guarantee its return.”

Lydia bit her lip, thinking it over. If anyone else in the pack was in this situation, she knew they wouldn’t even hesitate. If it meant saving her friends, she would have to find a way to adjust. She had never been a fan of giving the answer in a class discussion, and anything else that required her input could easily be written down. Technology had come too far for her to find herself failing without a voice. She just wasn’t sure how she would scream to alert everyone, later on, if she had to. “I’ll do it.” She would find the pack another banshee if she had to, she didn’t care how far she had to travel to succeed. 

Deaton watched her steadily, and he exhaled heavily as he lifted the flask and handed it to her. “Breathe into it. When you’re ready.” 

Lydia took the flask and raised it to her mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've ever wondered what Allison, Lydia or Stiles think about something, you can ask them now. 
> 
> http://ask.fm/adderallandconverse  
> http://ask.fm/crossbowsandsilver  
> http://ask.fm/ofpythagorasandprada


	21. Noble Causes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING:** This chapter contains threats of violence.

Lydia rubbed her throat self-consciously as she took the elevator back up to Derek’s loft. Once she and Deaton had figured out that the Furies had intervened, punishing the pack for defending the Fates, it was just a matter of her writing down everything she knew to be true. She knew that the spell had been broken, but there was a lot more that needed to be done before they could move on. She missed Derek and she wanted to find a way to make the Furies suffer for what they had done, but she wouldn’t cry if she never saw them again.

Derek opened his door, a cacophony of noise filtering out from behind him in the form of the pack’s voice. He stopped dead. “Lydia.” He breathed out, reaching his hand toward her. “Come inside right now. Come on.”

Lydia smiled and walked into the apartment, hanging up her coat. She handed her notes to Stiles as she passed him, going into the kitchen for a glass of water as she tried to think of a plausible excuse for why she couldn’t talk. She didn’t want to lie to the pack, but she was afraid that if she let them know what she had done, they would be angry with Deaton. She wasn’t feeling that way. He had asked for a price that seemed a little steep, but she agreed to it. 

Allison barged her way past Derek and flung her arms around Lydia, letting out a soft sob. “I’m so sorry. I’m so glad you’re okay, I didn’t mean anything I said, I swear. You’re my best friend, I love you so much, I would _never_ say anything like that to you. I mean, I already kind of did, but I don’t think I was in control, and I will never, ever, ever say anything like that ever again.”

Lydia nodded in agreement and couldn’t help smiling at the irony of it. She knew she definitely wouldn’t say anything again like what she had told Allison earlier, since her voice was gone. 

Stiles flipped through the notes Lydia had shoved at him. “The Furies did all of this? They made us argue?” 

Lydia nodded again, wishing she knew another gesture for ‘yes.’ She sat down on the couch, feigning an interest in the movie that she had put in the dvd player earlier. 

Scott looked at Lydia worriedly for a moment before he looked at the others all in turn. He knelt down next to the redhead and took her hand, setting his free hand on her knee. “Lydia… why aren’t you talking to us? Are you trying to prove a point? Because… you know, if you are, it’s - point proven, seriously. You can talk to us now. We aren’t assholes anymore.”

Lydia shook her head at Scott. She gestured to the notes that Stiles was still perusing, then gestured like she was writing. 

Scott clenched his hand around hers, his head jerking back to look at Stiles. “Dude, read faster.” 

Stiles glanced up, but went back to reading. “I’m going as fast as I can. I don’t know why Lydia thinks this is a game, but at least she’s not drawing trees instead of doing automatic writing for ghosts that can’t... Lydia, you can’t talk, can you?” 

Lydia sighed, then shook her head. She grabbed one of the papers from Stiles and held it out to Scott, tapping on the paragraph she had written that explained about the spell to give up her voice. 

Allison rushed over to Scott, reading the paper over his shoulder as he looked over it. “Oh, Lydia.” She whispered.

Derek swallowed, staring at them. “What did she do? How did she lose her voice?”

Scott stared at the paper, stunned, and blinked slowly. “She… Deaton had a way of finding out who was messing with us - who cast the thing on us that made us start tearing each other apart. But the only way he could do it was by using her voice as the medium. And he couldn’t - he can’t guarantee that he can give it back to her. Lydia’s voice is gone.”

Stiles got up, tossing the papers down onto the floor. “I’ll kill him.” He muttered. “I will seriously hold him down and jam one of his syringes into the vein on his neck. And then I’m gonna get that bone saw thing.” 

Derek put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder, frowning. “Hang on a minute.” He said quietly, and then bent down in front of Lydia, next to Scott. “Lydia - did he goad you into this? Or did you agree to do it?” He asked her softly. “Are you okay with what he did?”

Lydia held up one finger and shook her head. She held up a second finger and nodded, then a third finger and nodded again. 

“I still think Stiles should kill him.” Malia smiled. “And I want to see him do it. I’ll help, too.” 

Derek and Scott both spun around to stare at Malia, Scott’s eyes glowing red while Derek’s flashed blue. “Malia!” Scott snapped. “He’s my boss, and he’s the main reason that we’ve probably even survived until now. No one is killing anyone. Understood?” He glanced at Liam and Isaac, raising his eyebrows pointedly.

Liam stuttered. “Wha- oh, yeah, no. Definitely no killing. I’m not killing anyone. I don’t wanna see anyone die.”

“Don’t yell at me.” Malia went into the kitchen. 

Isaac chuckled, but he stopped when he realized Scott was still glaring at him. “Sorry.” 

“Fine, but how do we get her voice back for her?” Stiles demanded. “He can’t keep it.” 

“Of course he’s not keeping it. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Lydia’s voice back, even if it means we go back to snapping each other’s heads off with our teeth again.” Scott muttered. “He’s my boss. I’ll talk to him. If anyone else wants to come along, feel free. That includes you, Malia.” He called, scowling a little.

Lydia rolled her eyes and grabbed one of the dry-erase markers from her purse, scrawling a heart across the back of one of her own papers. She wrote ‘Scott + Malia’ inside the heart and held it up for Scott to see, then pointed toward the kitchen. 

Scott’s lower lip jutted out at her. “But she - _I’m_ the Alpha!” He whined.

Derek snorted despite himself and looked back at Stiles. “Did that sound just as annoying when I did it?” He asked, lips twitching.

“Worse.” Stiles laughed. “Because you weren’t whining, you were bragging.” 

Derek smirked. “Well, I had quite a bit to brag about.”

Lydia got up from the couch and reached toward Scott’s earlobe, hoping that just the gesture of it would be enough to send him running toward Malia. 

Scott yelped and fell backwards onto his butt before scrambling backwards. “Okay, okay, alright, I’ll go!” He stood up, his lower lip still sticking out at Lydia. “I _am_ the Alpha here, Lydia, you remember that, right?” He darted away before she could come at him again, and ran into the kitchen without another word.

Lydia smiled and sat back down. 

“I have a feeling that you’d be reacting the same way he just did, if you were still the Alpha.” Stiles looked over at Derek, then put his arm around Allison. “Hey. Can we go talk outside?” 

Allison stiffened, then looked up at Stiles warily. “Um. Hi.” She mumbled, then paused before sighing and saying, "Yeah. I think we need to." She straightened up and started for the door, flushing when she caught the pack's gaze.

Derek smirked at Allison and Stiles, lifting a knowing eyebrow at them as Allison practically ran past him.

Stiles shook his head at Derek. "I can't believe I have to say this, but... shut up, Derek." He followed Allison down the stairs and out to the Jeep before he spoke again. “Can’t we just pick up where we left off? Nothing in the past few days has even been real.” 

It was like all of the fight just went out of Allison all at once. She collapsed against Stiles’ chest, burying her face against his neck, and clutched at him tightly. “The worst feeling in the world to me is knowing that I was in love with you and that you wanted to be with someone else." She whispered, one hand settling above his heart. 

"Oh." Stiles rubbed Allison's back. "You know I'm in love with you. I was interested in you when I thought I loved Derek. But it would make me the worst kind of person to be with a guy who's terrified of dating, who has a bad history of it, and leave him with no real warning. Especially after I used the L word in front of everyone. And even saying all of that? I gave him an out, because he was devastated about not knowing when my birthday is. I think Derek is actually similar to me, at least in that regard. I don't know how to gradually gain interest in anyone. If I'm in love, like I am with you - I need to know everything. I get obsessed. I'm obsessed with you. It was a little complicated when Scott overshared so much about you. I guess I sort of know how you feel. I don't mean... I don't think I was in love with you back then. I could have been."

Allison took a deep breath and looked up at Stiles. "If it wasn't - if Scott hadn't been there... I could very easily have fallen for you, Stiles. Right from the start. Sometimes, the way you looked at me, it would send shivers down my spine and it would make me question what I was doing with someone else when there was a guy right in front of me that could look at me that intensely. And then I'd remember Scott and how I felt about him, but those feelings about you... they didn't just go away." 

"So let's ignore these setbacks, since they weren't our idea anyway, and keep going." Stiles murmured, kissing Allison. "And I still like our plan. I want to keep going with that, too." 

Allison's lips twitched up. "Sounds like a good idea to me." She murmured, and stretched up to the tips of her toes to kiss him back. She pulled back and smiled up at him happily before a curious expression crossed her face. "How far did you actually get with Derek, exactly?" She asked quietly.

"I had sex with him." Stiles admitted. "But I was... well, what about you and Scott?" He was suddenly nervous, not wanting to make her seem worse when she wasn't, and nothing had been anyone's fault. But the idea of Scott getting Allison pregnant made him feel sick. 

Allison shifted once, grimacing, and then sighed. "We... Yes. Just once." She mumbled. "It felt... Weird. Wrong. Not bad wrong, but... Old wrong? Like it was familiar, but part of me knew I wasn't supposed to be doing that anymore. Not with Scott, anyway."

"We need to find Clotho." Stiles put his arms around his girlfriend, needing her to know he still wanted to be with her. "She said something that made me think you're already pregnant. And the Furies need to back the hell off."

Allison blinked. "But I can't be pregnant." She blurted, frowning. "Not yet. Isn't it too early?" She peered down at her belly, poking at it, then looked up sharply. "Would one of the wolves know?"

"If there's a heartbeat or if you smell different, maybe." Stiles looked pensive. "But I still sort of trust Clotho, even though I probably shouldn't."

Allison rested her head against his shoulder, her face tucked against his neck. "Me, too. I mean, I definitely trust her over the Furies." She swallowed. "I hope they're okay." She looked at Stiles, a bleak expression on her face. "I want Chloe back." She mumbled.

"Do you want to see if she'd come back?" Stiles knew it wouldn't be the same, the two of them playing house with a centuries-old Fate that enjoyed an extended childhood, but he wasn't planning on asking her to give up who she was. "Could we even ask her to do that?"

Allison sniffed. "I'd love to try... I just don't think it would be the same. I feel like such a fool for the way I talked to her when she was a little girl. I don't know if it's better or worse that she let me."

"We could take in foster kids. We're old enough now. I still want us to have at least one kid that's biologically ours, but I want to make a difference for an actual Chloe out there, too."

Allison leaned back against the Jeep, dumbfounded as she stared up at him before she let out a low laugh. "Your dad - our dads are going to murder us." She murmured.

"We've survived worse than them." Stiles smiled. "I'm giving thought to ditching my own birthday party. We probably shouldn't. But I sort of want to tell them what we've been talking about."

"I... don't?" Allison replied hesitantly. "Not yet. I want to actually know for sure that I'm going to be pregnant before I say something to them. Chloe isn't real, however much I wish she was, so there's no timeline set for her, or where she came from or when she was born. And our dads don't know about that." She gave Stiles an impish grin. "They don't have to know for a while - they could just think I'm pregnant with Chloe when they do find out." She paused and made a face. "Of course, that all falls apart if I end up pregnant with a boy."

“We’ll put pink onesies and dresses on him until kindergarten.” Stiles said easily, grinning. “There’s no clothing law that pertains to gender, anyway. They can think what they want.” 

Allison giggled. "I can start painting his nails, and growing his hair out and putting cute little clips in it. At least until he decides he wants to do it himself."

“And then one day, we’ll have a daughter that will keep her hair short and never wear skirts.” Stiles teased. “I hope we have enough money saved up for their therapy.” 

"I'd be proud to have them either way, therapy or not. They'll be ours - I'm going to love them and spoil them and accept them no matter what." Allison nodded once, firmly.

Stiles smiled. "I love you." He glanced over his shoulder, toward the apartment building. "It's rude if we don't go back. We have to... hold on. I think Derek was trying to tell us something. He seemed kind of smug before we left."

Allison furrowed her brow. "Maybe he thought we were leaving to go do what we usually do whenever we leave." She grinned. "It's not like he guessed wrong. This has become a pattern with is - party or pack meeting, and we escape to go make out. Or other stuff."

“Or you’re already pregnant and he knows.” Stiles guessed, staring at Allison. “We could ask him.” 

Allison straightened, staring up at the apartment building where she knew the window to the loft was. "You really think I'm already pregnant?" She asked.

“We’ve been having a lot of sex.” Stiles grinned. “No complaints, by the way.” 

Allison snorted and flicked his forehead. "Yeah, but lots of sex doesn't always mean 'boom! Pregnant!'" She didn't want to add that with their luck, she'd gotten pregnant in the last week - by Scott. Stiles still wanted to be with her - that was all that mattered. If that turned out to be the case, he wouldn't love the baby any less. If she was pregnant. Which she was still convinced she wasn't. "We can still go ask him. Just to see if we're getting closer."

Stiles reached for Allison’s hand as he walked toward the building, trying not to think about the possibility that Scott had gotten Allison pregnant. He knew his best friend would be a great dad one day, but Stiles refused to come between two people that were having a kid together, so he wasn’t sure what he would do if that situation presented itself. 

_It only takes one time,_ was the thought that kept running through Allison’s head as they made it back to the loft and pushed through the doors. She looked up at Stiles and sighed, leaning against him. “We need to stop psyching ourselves out.”

Stiles put his arm around her. It had become instinctive in the time they had been together, but the realization of that made him smile again, however briefly. “If he did,” he said carefully, “then we’ll all need to have a long talk about rights and responsibilities.” 

“ _If_ he did.” Allison nodded, leaning against him. “There’s still the possibility that I’m not. At all. We need Derek’s super sniffer.”

Derek’s ears perked up, and he slowly raised his head from where he’d curled into Lydia’s lap. He looked up at them curiously. “What’s going on?”

Stiles held up his index finger, then sent Derek a text. ‘Allison and I want to have a baby and we’re wondering if she’s pregnant already. Clotho said something that made it sound like she is.’ 

Derek peered down at his phone, head cocking to the side. He didn’t look surprised at the idea that Allison and Stiles wanted to have a baby, but he did look surprised that they were working on it _now_. He stood up, and brushed a sweet kiss against the side of Lydia’s head, then moved toward the other two, taking measured steps so that his hearing was clear, and breathing deeply, his eyes fluttering shut as he concentrated. He opened his eyes a moment later, and stared at them, looking apologetic as he shook his head. “Negative.” He said quietly.

Stiles glanced over at Allison, silent for a long moment. “Wanna go try again?” He winced when Lydia threw a pillow at him. “Hey! Just because you can’t talk, that doesn’t mean you can throw things at me.” 

Allison cupped a hand over her mouth, giggling. She left Stiles’ side so that she could sit next to Lydia, hugging her best friend tightly. “Of all the things you do for us, you had to go and give away your voice.” She sighed, and rested her head against Lydia’s. “I _need_ your voice right now, Lyds.” She whined.

Lydia smiled and got a notepad and pen out of her purse. She wrote carefully, then tore the sheet of paper out of the notepad and held it out to Allison. ‘Do I need to pinch your earlobe, like I do with Scott?’ 

Allison read the note, then jutted out her lower lip, pouting. “No. I _want_ this, though. I really do.” She exhaled shakily. “I want it so much it makes me shake.”

Lydia shook her head and held her hand out to take the paper back from Allison. She wrote ‘COLLEGE?’ and held it up to show her. 

“Online classes and community college until I’m ready to attend in person.” Allison replied promptly.

Lydia nodded. ‘You’ve given this a lot of thought.’ She gave Allison a curious look. 

Allison smiled softly, and looked over her shoulder at Stiles before looking back at Lydia. “I have.” She murmured, nodding. “I want to be a mom so bad. Having Chloe - Clotho - around just… I looked at her one day and all I wanted was more - more kids, more Stiles, more of being a parent, more everything. I wanted it so much that my heart ached from wanting it.”

Lydia put her notepad and pen back into her purse and hugged Allison. As far as she was concerned, Allison and Stiles had her approval. Not that they needed it, but she was certain that it would make their lives easier to have someone willing to back them when it became necessary. 

Allison clutched at Lydia tightly, hugging her back and letting out a huff of laughter against her friend’s shoulder. “Thank you.” She whispered.

Lydia pulled back and smiled, making sure Allison could see her do it. She felt lost without her voice, but it had been a worthy sacrifice, as far as she was concerned. 

Allison touched Lydia’s cheek gently, smiling softly at her. “We’re going to find a way to get you your voice back. I swear.”

Lydia shrugged one shoulder, then got up and went into the kitchen for something to drink. Not being able to speak was strange. She had expected it to feel like a sore throat, like laryngitis. Instead, it was just a typical day in Beacon Hills, except that she couldn’t say anything to anyone. 

Derek drifted after her, following her to the kitchen. “Does it hurt at all?” He asked.

Lydia shook her head and sipped her water, then set the bottle down on the counter and screwed the cap back on. She leaned back and looked up at Derek, wondering if she would be this way long enough to need to learn sign language, or if she should get a text-to-speech app on her phone. 

Derek smiled down at her softly, moving closer. “I missed you. This was the weirdest situation I’ve ever been in in my life, but whatever else happened, even when I didn’t realize it right away, I knew I missed you.” He took her hand, lifting it up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

Lydia gestured from Derek to herself, trying to tell him she felt the same way. She smiled as she pointed toward the living room, gesturing toward Derek again before she brought her fists together, turning them slightly away from each other and shaking her head slightly. She gestured toward Derek a third time, then hugged him. 

Derek hugged her back tightly, lifting her off of her feet and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I know, I know. But it wasn’t Stiles’ fault, and it wasn’t my fault, you know? The Furies have a weird sense of humor, I think. Toward the end of that spell, though, I don’t think either of us would have minded if you’d broken us up.” He rubbed her back soothingly. “And yes, I know I’m yours. Are you mine, too?”

Lydia put her hands on Derek’s shoulders and nodded. She leaned down to kiss him. 

Derek held her up easily, his arms tightening just under her backside as he kissed her back eagerly.

When Lydia pulled back to catch her breath, she tapped Derek’s shoulder to get him to put her down. 

Derek set her down slowly, dropping his face in the crook of her neck and lowering himself with her as he did. He inhaled deeply and pressed a kiss to her throat before pulling away slowly. He stared at her for a long moment, then said, quietly, “Do you want to go lay down with me?”

Lydia nodded, walking out of the kitchen and toward the stairs. She waved at Allison as she passed, figuring she probably wouldn’t see her friend again until later on. 

Derek followed her, nodding to Allison and Stiles and frowning curiously at where everyone else had gone, before shrugging. He put his hand on the small of Lydia’s back, and stretched out on his bed when they reached his room. He held his arm out to her.

Lydia moved closer to Derek and kissed him again. She pulled the blanket over herself, tugging at her hair until she freed it from the bun she had it in. 

Derek wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and holding her against his chest.

Lydia started giggling, even though no sound came out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and covered her lips with her hand, feeling embarrassed. It had just occurred to her that the quietest person in the pack had ended up with someone who had voluntarily made herself mute. 

Derek couldn’t help smiling at her fondly, pressing his thumb to her chin and tilting her head so that he could kiss her again. “You’re beautiful when you laugh.” He murmured, and dotted a kiss against her temple before dropping another on her cheek. 

Lydia stared at Derek, bringing a hand up to rest on his forearm and mouthed ‘thank you,’ deciding that she definitely needed the speaking app on her phone. 

Derek didn’t reply, too intent on studying her. He drew a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t know if you knew this about me,” he started quietly, “But I fall hard and fast. In the past, it’s been a problem.” He hugged her gently. “I don’t think it is this time.”

Lydia gave Derek a questioning look, feeling skeptical. She knew he had been interested in Jennifer Blake, but she didn’t think their relationship was anything other than one more manipulation in his life. She grimaced, realizing that she might very well be the first person Derek had dated who wasn’t looking for a way to hurt or use him. Stiles didn’t count; their relationship had been false and short-lived. She kissed Derek, moving her hand up to his shoulder as she closed the distance between them, bringing her right knee up to rest on his thigh. 

Derek exhaled as he slowly relaxed against her. One hand gently cupped her thigh, holding her close while the other gently pressed against the back of her head. He kissed her chastely, his eyes closing contentedly.

Lydia opened her eyes and traced patterns over Derek’s shirt, thinking about how she wouldn’t mind being able to undo the pain he had been through. But she figured, and she knew it was selfish, that if he was a little more well-adjusted and hadn’t been through so much, he wouldn’t need her now. She tilted her head back to look up at him, feeling guilty for that line of thought. She bit her lip, trying to figure out how to tell him that she wanted to help him feel better about himself, without making him guess at words she couldn’t verbalize. She pointed to herself, then tapped Derek’s hand and slid her fingers up his arm, the way that pain was taken in by a werewolf when they were trying to heal someone. 

Derek slid his fingers through hers and lifted her hand to his mouth to kiss it gently. “You already make me feel better.” He murmured, looking a bit shy. “I haven’t smiled and laughed so much since this - between us - since we started. There’s no guilt when I look at you, Lydia. There’s no guilt, or sadness, or anything except for you.”

Lydia nodded and pushed hair away from her eyes when it fell across her face. She sat up, gathering her hair in one hand and twisting it up and away from her. She didn’t let go until she was laying back down on her side, knowing that it wouldn’t be in her way anymore. 

Derek leaned over her, reaching up to run his fingers through her hair, stroking it out across the pillow and away from Lydia’s face. He leaned down and kissed her again, slowly.

Lydia kissed back, only pulling away when she felt like she had to yawn. She rolled her eyes at herself and smiled. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. 

Derek laughed quietly, dropping his head down to rest against hers. “Want to sleep?” He asked her, rubbing her shoulder.

Lydia nodded again, kissing Derek’s cheek. She glanced at his hair, then reached up to run her fingers through it, smiling playfully. 

Derek smiled, his eyes closing as he unconsciously pressed his head into her touch with a sigh. His fingers slid down her sides, down to her hips, and he goosed her playfully, anticipating her jump.

Lydia grinned, moving her mouth to Derek’s shoulder to bite down lightly. 

Derek growled softly, clenching his hands around her, and he pulled back, heavy-lidded eyes gazing at her. “This is going to go way past sleeping very quickly if you don’t quit that.” He hummed, not looking like he minded the thought at all. The lower half of him certainly didn’t.

Lydia pointed toward the stairs, then shook her head and moved toward the other side of the bed, rearranging the pillows and laying back down. With Stiles and Allison still there, as far as she could tell, she didn’t think it would be very polite to have sex with Derek. Her friends might not care much about what was decent and what wasn’t, but Lydia had her limits. 

Derek laughed quietly, settling down on the opposite side of her, reaching out to at least wrap his hand around hers. “Sleep, sweetheart. In the morning, if they aren’t gone, I’ll kick them out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Regarding the possible trigger** , Stiles finds out about Deaton taking Lydia's voice and responds pretty much the same way he does in canon when someone has threatened his friends. Malia reacts favorably and offers to help.


	22. Quietly Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia tugged her phone out of her pocket and typed, holding it up for Scott to read instead of subjecting him to the electronic voice. ‘Can we go to the bookstore before we go back to Derek’s?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title comes from a line in Headlights by Morning Parade.

_January 4, 2013_

As it had turned out, the reason why nearly everyone was missing from Derek’s apartment when Lydia had left the kitchen with him was that the party had moved to Malia’s, where Cora had arrived the night before as a surprise, stating that Stiles’ birthday present was both the wrapped gift under her arm, and her own presence. Not even Derek had known she was coming.

Lydia rubbed her eyes and started scrolling through the website she had found. It wasn’t helpful so far, but she was trying to locate another banshee that lived nearby and would hopefully be interested in joining the pack. She pushed her chair back and shook her head at herself, trying to stop thinking about the fact that she had given up one of the things that made her an important part of the pack. She wanted to go yell at Deaton, but obviously, that was out of the question. She had been voiceless for four days and wasn’t sure how she was going to get through her last semester.

Scott sat down beside her, putting his elbows on the table and watching her. “Would you, by any chance, be willing to go talk to Deaton with me? I can be your conduit for yelling, if you want.”

Lydia smiled and closed her laptop, then stood up to get her coat. She took a deep breath as she put her shoes on, glancing over at Scott and motioning for him to hurry. 

Scott grinned at her. “Want me to bring anyone else with us?”

“I’m going.” Stiles was already putting his coat on. “I won’t kill him. I think we all know I’m incapable of that, anyway.” 

Allison lifted her head in passing to kiss Stiles. “I’d go with you, but Malia and I never really got the answer from Mrs. McCall about our - well, the whole thing where we might share a mom. So I’m going to drag her to the hospital for a while. Jackson and Isaac are distracting Liam with lacrosse at the high school’s field, and I figure this will give Derek some alone time to catch up with Cora.”

“Okay.” Stiles agreed. “Call me and let me know. I love you.” He smiled and pulled her close for another kiss. 

Allison smiled back, brushing her hand over his cheek as she kissed him back. “I love you.” She replied happily.

Scott wrapped his arm around Stiles’ waist and dragged him away from Allison. “Yay, love! Let’s go now.”

Lydia rolled her eyes, but smiled as she followed the guys out to the elevator. She typed a message into her phone and hit the ‘speak’ button, letting it do the talking for her. She hated the electronic voice, but it was the best she could do for now. “The two of you are idiots. What are you going to do when you’re at different colleges?” 

Scott looked at Stiles, raising his eyebrows in question.

Stiles laughed. “I’m not answering that until you use that thing to say swear words.” He demanded. “Which I realize just demonstrates my immaturity, but I don’t care. Do it.” 

“Do it, do it!” Scott chanted, grinning widely at Lydia.

Lydia sighed and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, typing on her phone. “Fuck you. Damn it. Dumbasses. Are you happy now? I gave up my voice for this, really?” 

Stiles’ smile faded. “Sorry.” He mumbled, looking away. 

Scott met her gaze steadily. “And you can bet your ass that we’re sure as hell getting it back.” He said firmly. “Like I said, Lyds - I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Stiles glanced at Scott. “I still think that a wood chipper is the way to go, and we can probably find one close by.” He didn’t mean it at all, and they had never even discussed it, despite the way Stiles made it sound, but he was trying to take Lydia’s mind off of what had happened to her, any way that he could. He was still angry on her behalf, still remembered the girl that used to go caroling with her church and had shown up at his house shortly after his mom died. Lydia without a voice didn’t make any sense to him. 

Scott looked at Stiles and was silent for a moment before he sighed. “We’re going to talk to him. We can be reasonable. If the worst comes… We’ll deal with it when we get to it. But right now, we’re just going to talk to him.”

Stiles nodded, too lost in thought about his mom and wondering why he still did this to himself - ended up diving headfirst into the guilt over something that wasn’t his fault - every winter.

Scott patted Stiles’ shoulder, briefly hugging the other boy against him. “Come on, man.” He said gently.

By the time they got to the clinic, Stiles had cheered up a little and Lydia was looking up tasers on her phone, wondering if she was going to need one. She got out of the Jeep and typed another message. “I really hope this is the last time I have to communicate this way.” 

“I hope so, too.” Scott replied. “I’ve gotten used to your voice and that is nowhere near the same thing.”

“Yeah, I hate it. I’m going to end up programming you something that at least sounds more like you. I mean, if I have to.” Stiles muttered. “That electronic voice just sucks.” 

“It really does.” Scott nodded, and peered around Stiles. “I’m pretty sure the voice they use is evil.”

Lydia smiled, then put her phone into the pocket of her coat and walked into the clinic, looking around for Deaton. Even though she wasn’t normally afraid of him, the fact that she couldn’t scream if something happened to her, and the fact that the doctor had restricted her that way, made her nervous. 

"Miss Martin." Deaton greeted, giving Lydia a bland smile as she entered. "Are you well? Hello, Scott." He glanced at Stiles and nodded. "Hello, Mister Stilinski."

Lydia glanced toward Scott, knowing that if she prompted Stiles to speak for her, there would be a lot of name-calling and unnecessary threats made toward Deaton.

Scott put his hand on Lydia’s shoulder. “Lydia’s dealing, sir. It could be better, though. She needs her voice back.”

Lydia nodded in agreement. She was getting frustrated. Voluntary sacrifice aside, she wasn’t sure how to function without being able to say anything that didn’t require typing, first.

Scott took a deep breath. “She can’t go on like this, sir. It’s not fair to her. It’s not fair to any of us. We need to hear her voice. Isn’t there any way that we can get it back? At all?”

Deaton sighed heavily, his shoulders looking weighed down. “I’m sorry. There isn’t. Not at this point.”

“How long is she going to be like this? Why can’t you just give it back? You needed it for the spell, you used it, you’re done. Right?” Stiles frowned. 

Deaton shook his head at Stiles. “Lydia’s voice was not only used to find the originator of the spell, but it was used to break the spell as well. But I told Lydia from the very start that I might not be able to give her voice back to her, and she agreed, anyway. If it was a simple matter of just handing it back to her, I absolutely would. But there is a time frame on these sort of things, and I have no way of knowing when the end date will be.” He looked sorrowful. “I’m very sorry, Lydia.”

Lydia nodded again and walked back outside, tilting her head back a little. It was warmer than usual, for January, and a light rain had started. She wasn’t normally the type to do so, but she felt like walking home in it. 

Scott ran out after her, dragging her into a tight hug against his chest. “This is _not_ the end. We’re gonna figure this out, Lydia. I’m going to figure this out, I’ll get the stupid end date, and I’ll figure out how to rush it, and I am _getting you your voice back_.”

Lydia sighed as Stiles walked past them and started the Jeep, doing his best to warm the vehicle up before Scott and Lydia got back in. She tugged her phone out of her pocket and typed, holding it up for Scott to read instead of subjecting him to the electronic voice. ‘Can we go to the bookstore before we go back to Derek’s?’

Scott looked down at her and nodded. “Of course we can.” He murmured, and rested the top of his head against hers. “Stiles, let’s go to the bookstore first.”

Stiles glanced toward Scott and Lydia. “Sure.” He changed lanes a moment later, parking in front of the coffee shop, since it was next to the bookstore and the first available parking space he could find. 

Scott got out of the Jeep and reached inside to offer Lydia a hand.

Lydia smiled gratefully and took Scott’s hand, climbing out and going into the bookstore with him. She glanced behind her to look for Stiles, just in time to see him walk toward the coffee shop. When she turned back around, she walked through the aisles, looking at the different categorizations for each shelf until she found what she wanted. She picked up a few copies of the same book on American Sign Language, wanting to make sure she wasn’t the only one able to study it. They might all need to take turns with the books, but she doubted that there would be complaints about it. 

Scott watched her and stared down at the books she had grabbed with a slow grin. “Good idea, Lyds. We could all use a crash course with this. I think it’ll help a lot. And in the meantime…” He exhaled. “We’ll work on getting your voice back.”

Lydia held the books out to Scott, frowning at him as she got her phone out again, using the voice function because she was annoyed. “That’s not going to help me. Deaton tried to warn me that I might never get it back and I was fine with that. I know you’re trying to help, but I need to focus on what I have, not what I’ve lost.” 

Scott set his jaw stubbornly. “We’ll work on it, and help you move forward, but I’m not going to give up. I won’t bring it up anymore after this, at least not to you. But I have to try. I’ll probably just get my ass handed to me for trying, but…” He sighed, shrugging. “I’d be a shitty Alpha if I didn’t do everything I could.” He took a look at the ASL book and flipped it open, staring at the pages intently before he turned the book toward Lydia, looked up at her, and contorted his fingers into the sign for ‘I love you,’ blinking wide brown eyes at her, a crooked, hopeful smile on his face.

Lydia peered at the book, then rolled her eyes and smiled as she hugged Scott, repeating the sign. 

Scott grinned into her hair, hugging her back and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Lydia took the books back from Scott and carried them to the counter, smiling and nodding when the clerk greeted her. She had forgotten what life was like, outside of the pack. There was no way she could explain to the entire town, even if she wanted to, that she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t even told her mom, just shrugged noncommittally when she was asked if she had laryngitis. 

“Did you find everything you needed?” The clerk asked, smiling back at Lydia. She reached for the books, flipping them over and typing the prices into the register. “American Sign Language? Very cool. I’ve always wanted to learn it.”

Scott cleared her throat, coming up behind Lydia. “Yeah, we - us, our friends, are trying to branch out into new things.”

Lydia paid with her debit card and took the bag from the clerk, walking out of the store. She stomped in frustration as she waited for Stiles to unlock the doors, even though she knew he had gone for coffee for the three of them. 

Stiles gave Lydia a bemused smile as he walked up behind her, holding a drink carrier. “Do you feel better after having that tantrum?” 

Lydia scowled, but smiled a moment later. 

“Give me your phone.” Stiles set the drinks down on the hood of the Jeep and held his hand out. 

Lydia gave him a confused look, but handed it over. She knew by now that, even with her voice, Stiles would argue until someone gave in. 

Stiles held Lydia’s phone back out to her a moment later, tapping on part of the screen. An air horn sounded and he burst out laughing. “There. One instant banshee scream. Stop looking for a replacement for yourself. There’s only one Lydia.” 

Scott flinched, clapping his hands over his ears. “I feel like this is a bad idea!”

Lydia smiled and tapped the air horn picture again, watching Scott. She knew it was a little mean, but she appreciated what both of the guys were trying to do for her. She smiled and nodded at Stiles, putting her phone away and hugging Scott. 

Scott laughed, hugging her back tightly. “Love you, Lyds.” He told her seriously. “Always gonna be here for you.”

“Me too.” Stiles agreed, hugging Lydia and Scott. He laughed and let go, opening the driver’s side of the Jeep and leaning across the seat to unlock the passenger side door. 

Lydia walked around to the front of the Jeep to retrieve the coffee that Stiles had left there. She wanted to cry, but it was no longer out of frustration or rage. She was still amazed at how far she had come, how much she had changed, since sophomore year of high school. The way she used to behave, she never would have cared about the effort being made to make her feel comfortable. 

Scott climbed into the back of the Jeep and promptly poked his head through the space between the front two seats. “Do you want me to call Derek for you?” He asked Lydia. “Just to see if bonding time with Cora is over, I mean?”

Lydia nodded and held Scott’s drink out to him. If Derek was still catching up with Cora, Lydia would just get started on learning whatever signs she could. 

Scott took his drink, letting out a delighted noise, and sat back, pulling out his cell phone so that he could call Derek.

Stiles smiled as he twisted around a little to look at Scott. “Just let me know where we’re going.” 

Scott nodded at Stiles without saying a word, and took a sip of his coffee while he waited for Derek to answer. Once he did, there was a quick, almost entirely wordless conversation between them before Scott hung up the phone and looked up at them. “Derek wants Cora and Malia to get acquainted with each other, and Allison and Malia should be back soon, so he said Cora could stand to hang out with us. Head for the loft, dude.”

Stiles saluted Scott and pulled away from the curb. “I know some sign language.” He murmured, not looking at Lydia or Scott as he spoke. “When words got too hard for my mom, we signed a little. It didn’t last very long, but I can say a few things. Or, not say. Whatever.” 

“You can help teach us, then.” Scott told him, and reached across the back of the chair to squeeze his best friend’s shoulder. “You know I’ll listen to you at least.” He teased.

Stiles smiled, glancing at Scott in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, you and Allison, and that’s probably it. But that’s okay, I only know about four things.” 

Scott shrugged. “So Allison and I will teach everyone that doesn’t listen. Lydia can teach Derek. Pretty sure he only ever really takes her orders these days, anyway.” He winked at Lydia.

Lydia smiled, shrugging at Scott. She got out of the Jeep when Stiles parked, carrying the bag of books into the apartment building. 

Scott followed her up, kicking the door open for Stiles and waiting until his friend caught up.

“Thanks, Scotty.” Stiles rubbed his hands together to warm them up. 

“No problem, man. Come on, upstairs. Derek’s gotta have the heat on by now.” Scott darted into the elevator, sticking his leg out in order to keep it open.

Stiles followed Scott, glancing over at Lydia as he sipped his coffee. With as cold as it was outside, and in the Jeep, the coffee was barely warm. He made a face and decided to throw the cup away as soon as they got into the apartment. 

Lydia walked out of the elevator ahead of them and opened Derek’s door, looking around for him with a determined expression on her face. 

Derek looked up from where he was speaking with Cora, his ears perking up the moment Lydia walked into the room. He smiled and stood up, patting his younger sister on the shoulder before he moved toward Lydia and pulled her against him. “Hi.”

Lydia smiled, then kissed Derek and pulled away to get a book out of her shopping bag. She handed it to him.

“Deaton says that he used Lydia’s voice for two different things.” Stiles explained quickly. “So the Furies can’t come back here, but he doesn’t know how long it’s going to last. He can’t give her back her voice.” 

Scott added, “So Lydia thinks that learning ASL is a good idea, and so do I. Stiles knows a little of it, but we’re basically all learning it in the meantime.”

Lydia was typing as the guys spoke, and she hit ‘speak’ as soon as they were done explaining. “But you don’t have to learn. I’m not forcing anyone to do this.” 

“I really need to figure out how to make a better voice for one of those things.” Stiles muttered. 

Derek kissed Lydia’s cheek and smiled. “If you can figure it out, I’ll fund it.” He peered down at Lydia. “And I’m absolutely going to learn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are only four chapters left of this particular story, but there's so much more we want to do with this 'verse.


	23. Decisions Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison was eager to learn more, desperate to communicate easily with her friend. She was just having trouble picking up on some of the signs, but there were some that had come a lot more easily for her than the others. She watched Lydia silently, idly playing with Stiles' fingers and forming the sign language for 'I love you' from them, grinning up at him cheekily. "How's Derek doing, Lydia?" She asked curiously.
> 
> Lydia glanced up at Allison. ‘He misses my voice. He hasn’t said it, but I know it’s been kind of a pain. I just don’t want him to blame himself for this, on top of everything else. And I feel awful that I haven’t been able to figure out something that seems like the one word meant just for him.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a lengthy end note, regarding Lydia, as well as a statement made by Malia in this chapter. Some of you may be offended by something we felt was a throwaway line, and we wanted to explain our position on this.

_January 7, 2013_

Malia’s teeth clenched as she stared at the whiteboard in front of her. “How many weeks do we have left in this semester?” She demanded. 

Isaac chuckled from his seat behind her. “Well, considering that today is the first day? About twenty, I think.” 

Malia put her head down. “Wake me up when the bell rings, then. I don’t want to be here. I want to be in Scott’s class.” 

Jackson leaned over the desk and poked Malia’s side. “If you want, I can go down to the counselor’s office with you so that you can see if they’ll let you switch out.”

“Yeah?” Malia sat up. “Okay, let’s do that.” She gathered her books and got up from her desk, walking out into the hallway. 

Jackson glanced at Isaac, then blinked before gathering up his things and following Malia out. “You know I meant _after_ class, right?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he shouldered his bag.

“I didn’t know that. You have to tell me things directly.” Malia frowned. “I think sometimes I’d be better off just going back into the woods.” 

“Did you prefer it?” Jackson asked her, frowning. “You know, at least you’ve got family out here.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, I don’t know if that’s enough. I wish it was, but I’m not good at talking to people or understanding them. Or anything about them. I’m supposed to start a job today at the clinic, with Scott and Isaac. I don’t know.” Malia shook her head. “And school is stupid. I don’t like that I have to sit in a room with a bunch of people that are supposed to just answer questions, then they go home and answer more questions, and then they get graded on how well they answered the questions. It’s just a bunch of numbers. I like gym, at least. And lunch, even though they won’t let me eat what I want to eat.” 

Jackson stared at her for a long moment, and then sighed. “Yeah, I guess I don’t really blame you for some of that. I don’t know how I’d feel if I was living on my own in the woods for however long you’ve been gone.” He muttered. “Whatever. All I know is family is supposed to ground you, and if Derek or Cora can’t do that for you, you need to find something else that’ll keep you from going all… I don’t know, savage, I guess.”

“Oh, I have an anchor. It’s just all the other stuff.” Malia explained. “Like math class and the way girls around me say things about my hair.”

“Fuck ‘em.” Jackson replied promptly. “Look at the girls in the pack - you’ve got Lydia, you’ve got Allison, and your cousin is a Hale - you think any of them give a shit what people say about them?” His eyes softened. “If you really have a problem with other people talking shit about you, let me know. I’ll kick someone’s ass.”

Malia smiled suddenly. “You’re nicer than I thought you would be.” She walked toward the school’s main office. “Thank you.” 

Jackson blinked but gave her a crooked smile. “No problem.” He entered the main office, unconsciously holding the door open for Malia. “Wait, why? Has someone said any differently?”

“No, it’s just their scents.” Malia explained. “Somehow, I’ve become really good at figuring out who should be dating, based on how they smell. But emotions are kind of a separate thing, and people smell weird when you’re around.” She walked into the office, then turned to face him. “This is probably one of those things that everyone is always telling me I’m not supposed to talk about.” 

Jackson pressed his lips together, trying not to look bitter at Malia’s words. “Probably.” He mumbled. “They smell weird when I’m around, huh? Bad weird, I guess, or you wouldn’t think you weren’t supposed to mention it.” He sat down and folded his arms over his chest, sighing. “Typical.”

"But they do like you." Malia sat beside Jackson. "They wouldn't talk to you if they didn't like you. Well, except Lydia. But she can't talk to anyone."

Snorting, Jackson leaned back and sighed. "Sometimes I wonder." He exhaled. "I know I can be difficult to get along with. It wouldn't be the first time I alienated anyone."

"I think we're all like that." Malia smiled. "So it's nice to have them around. I just miss being a coyote."

“There are some benefits to being human, though.” Jackson murmured to her, watching her steadily.

“I’m still trying to figure that out.” Malia shrugged. “But I believe it can be true.” 

“It is.” Jackson nodded slowly, looking distant. “Sex, for one. Can’t exactly appreciate it when you’re a coyote.”

Malia’s eyebrow raised as she studied Jackson. “That’s your opinion.” She murmured. “I didn’t have any trouble.” 

Jackson blinked, and then looked at her in surprise. “Wha - oh. Okay, then. I guess I was wrong.” He huffed out a quiet laugh.

“But I haven’t done it, as a human.” Malia admitted. “I want to.” 

Jackson raised his own eyebrows at Malia. “Well… you’re dating Scott now, or whatever. Aren’t you? You can ask him.” He suggested.

“I should do that.” Malia grinned. “Okay.” She looked at the office assistant, then rolled her eyes and got up. “I’ll go do it now. I don’t even want to be here.” 

Shaking his head, Jackson smirked at her faintly. “You could go drag him out right in the middle of his class. That should be interesting.”

“Do you think he’ll like it?” Malia looked eager. “Because I want to.” 

Jackson stood up. “Drag him out, or have sex with him? I’m not gonna pretend to know McCall very well. I wouldn’t really know, honestly. But if it came down to sticking around class, and running off to have sex, I’d be in my car already.”

Malia laughed and ran off to find Scott. She tracked his scent through the halls, stopping outside of his classroom to speak just loud enough that only he could hear her. “Scott, ditch class and come have sex with me.” She demanded. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t like school, and I’m horny.” 

There was a choking noise, and then Scott was asking his teacher if he could be excused. He made a few wheezing noises, as if the asthma he no longer had was acting up, and when he received permission, he barreled out of the doors, stumbling over his own feet, face as red as a tomato and eyes wide. He shut the door after him, one hand wrapping around Malia's wrist and tugging her with him, past the classrooms and doors and all the way out to the front of the school before he reached the parking lot where his dirt bike was. He finally turned to look at her as he handed her his helmet. "The teacher thought I was dying."

“Then she’s dumb, but that also means you don’t have to go back there, ever.” Malia murmured, giving the helmet a curious look. “What is this for?” 

“For your head. So you don’t go splat if we happen to get in an accident.” Scott told her. “Come on, put it on.”

Malia made a face, but put the helmet on. 

***

Isaac unpacked the lunch he had made for himself and bit into one of his apple slices. The school day had been going well, so far. He had been surprised to learn that some people remembered him, had paid enough attention to realize he just wasn’t around anymore last year, after Allison got injured. He had missed talking to Scott, but he had plans to spend time with a few other people, outside of the pack, over the next week. 

Jackson dropped down into the chair across from Isaac and stole one of the apple slices, crunching into it obnoxiously as he looked at the other boy. “Somehow, I ended up encouraging Malia to kidnap Scott from campus for sex.” He stated, and then looked around. “I’m assuming they aren’t coming back, because that was at some point this morning.”

“Yeah, I could hear him practically tackling her in the hallway and leading her outside.” Isaac snorted. “I don’t know where this idea comes from that sex is more important than an education.” He smirked and opened his bottle of water. 

“I’m gonna go ahead and blame the CW and shit. I’m pretty sure it’s their fault.” Jackson kicked his feet up and leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes at Isaac. “Why the fuck do you look so happy? You’re not supposed to look happy. You’re supposed to look miserable and be pining over Allison while wishing you could get into McCall’s pants.”

“Not anymore.” Isaac muttered. “Allison and I ended before we even got to Paris. You know that. And Scott isn’t even interested in guys. Let’s face it, if he was, he’d probably already be married to that scarf-hating son of a bitch.” 

“You have a lot of fucking problems with those goddamn scarves, Lahey.” Jackson snorted, shaking his head. He reached across the table and tugged sharply at the scarf in question. “These are _not_ the height of fashion. I dated Lydia Martin. I _know_ things. All it took was wearing a scarf once before I realized my mistake.” He sat back again. “Anyway, you dodged the question. Happy face. Why?”

“When I was growing up here, nobody paid any attention to me. My dad was abusive, but not all the time, and Matt quit coming over, quit talking to me, after my dad threatened him. Until Derek decided to help me, I didn’t have anyone. And then I didn’t even have him. But now, everybody is talking to me and saying they’re glad I’m back here.” Isaac smiled. “It feels pretty good to be home.” 

Unable to help himself, Jackson smiled, too. “It makes for a nice change, I guess.” He scratched at the back of his head, then snorted bitterly. “It’d be nice to hear it being said to me, I mean, but whatever. I can get used to the freaked out looks and the ‘holy shit I thought he was dead’ crap.”

Lydia sat down beside Jackson without thinking much about it. She nodded toward Isaac, sliding a piece of paper toward him.

Isaac read the paper and looked over at Jackson. "Lydia has all of her classes in the library, with a special instructor."

Jackson frowned. “Okay?” He said slowly, looking over at the other girl. He was still wary about being around her, particularly after the latest attempt to fuck with their lives in the form of that stupid spell. He’d been given exactly what he’d wanted only for it to be ripped away from him - again. It was like someone had told him he’d won the lottery, handed him twenty bucks, and then took it away again before smirking and giving him the finger. He shifted away from her a bit, placing some distance between them but staying close enough that she wouldn’t take (too much) offense - he hoped. “Is there a reason she’s writing it down and not just saying it?”

Isaac stared at Jackson in disbelief. “She can’t talk. Malia told you this morning. This is why you need to start spending time over at Derek’s. Stiles’ birthday was on the first, and Lydia gave up her voice to undo what the Furies did to us. Scott and Stiles took her over to Deaton’s on Friday, to see if he’d give it back to her, and he said he can’t.” 

“I thought she was being broad about it, like Lydia can’t talk to anyone because she _doesn’t_ want to talk to anyone, I didn’t know she was being literal!” Jackson snapped. “Jesus fucking christ.” Turning to Lydia, he stared in disbelief. “Why the hell did you give up your voice for these idiots?”

Lydia smiled and wrote, ‘If any one of them had to make the same choice, they’d choose the pack, every single time.’

Jackson grunted. “You don’t know that for sure. Maybe they’ve given stuff up, but not their voice.” He mumbled.

Lydia glanced over at Jackson, eyeing him critically before she started writing again. ‘Would you have done this for me?’ 

Cora sat down beside Isaac and eyed his lunch with a little bit of jealousy as she picked up her slice of pizza and bit into it. 

Jackson licked his lips, putting his fingers together with a sigh. “If I said yes, would you believe me?” He asked, and focused his gaze on Cora for a moment.

‘I would.’ Lydia smiled, but she kicked Jackson’s ankle and gave him a pointed look before she glanced at Cora. She was getting a little fed up with how much the guys in the pack needed to be pushed toward the people they were interested in. 

Jackson let out a wounded noise and growled at her. “ _Ow._ ” He bit out, annoyed. He followed her gaze, then frowned, looking down again.

Lydia tore her sheet of paper in half and wrote, ‘Jackson is interested in you, but he’s pretending he’s the mute one so that he doesn’t have to deal with having feelings.’ She slid the note across the table to Cora. 

Cora read the note, then looked up at Jackson and laughed. She turned her head to look at Lydia again. “He couldn’t handle me.” 

Jackson stiffened, scowling, but didn’t reply, instead deciding (apparently) that ignoring the younger girl was the best course of action.

“I’m staying out of this.” Isaac smiled. “I don’t need to incur the wrath of any of you.” 

“You’re so popular around here now, Lahey, why don’t you go find one of those people that are so glad to have you back?” Jackson suggested, giving the other boy a dry smile.

“No, I think I’m fine right here.” Isaac grinned. 

“Typical.” Jackson muttered, rolling his eyes. “Guess I should make _myself_ scarce then.” He grumbled, moving to stand up.

Lydia reached up and grabbed Jackson’s shirt, pulling him back down into his seat. She shook her head at him. 

Settling back down in his seat, Jackson groaned and dropped his head to the table. “Why can’t you just let me escape?” He asked, his voice muffled against the table.

“Are you afraid of me?” Cora laughed. “Because that’s kind of sweet.” She opened her milk and took a drink of it. “And reasonable of you.” 

“I’m not afraid of you!” Jackson’s head shot up, and he scowled at Cora. “I’m reasonably wary. You’re a Hale. It’s not like I’ve had good experiences with the other people in your family before.”

“So you’re afraid of my family.” Cora countered, laughing again. “Let’s just get this cleared up right now. I’m not anything like my uncle or my brother. Peter’s only looking out for his best interests and Derek is emotionally stunted. Or he was, anyway.” She conceded, looking at Lydia. “Anyway, you’re single. I’m single. I don’t completely hate you. That’s a bigger deal than you think it is.” 

“Gee, that solves everything. Get on the table right now, and we can make out.” Jackson responded dryly.

Cora smirked and stood up, pushing her tray aside and sitting cross-legged on the table. She looked at Jackson. “You could get up here and join me or you could run away like a coward. But this is a one-time offer.” 

Jackson blinked and paused, staring at Cora for a long moment. “Hey, Lahey.” He started, his eyebrows lifting as he looked over Cora.

“Yeah, that’s my cue to leave.” Isaac muttered, snickering as he gathered his things and got up from the table. 

Lydia stood up, patting Jackson’s shoulder before she walked away, following Isaac over to the table where Stiles and Allison were sitting. She knew they had wanted privacy, but she didn’t care. 

Allison looked up at Lydia in surprise. “Hey. What’s going on? Everything okay?”

Lydia nodded, extending her pinky fingers as she brought the index fingers of each hand together, tracing a ‘J’ in the air with her pinkies before she lowered her hands. It was her sign for Jackson, indicating that they were good friends now. She had come up with a sign for nearly everyone else in the pack over the weekend, making sure to teach them to as many pack members as possible, since there was always more than one person hanging around. If someone didn’t know what she was saying, another friend of theirs could easily translate for her. She made a face, gesturing over her shoulder toward the table she and Isaac had just vacated. She didn’t have a sign for Cora or Derek yet, feeling that she didn’t know Derek’s sister well enough to make one for her. She knew Derek well enough, for a variety of reasons, but she wanted his sign to be perfect and she was having a hard time thinking of one word to describe him. 

Allison glanced back at the other table, and blinked once. “Oh. Well, then.” She covered Stiles’ eyes. “Don’t look, honey.”

Stiles grimaced, but turned his head to lean toward Allison for another kiss. “I’m more interested in what’s going on over here, anyway.” 

Allison wound one arm around his neck and grinned, grabbing Stiles’ other hand and putting it on her abdomen. “Or here,” she said cheerfully, and then looked hopefully at Isaac, silently asking if he could hear anything.

Isaac shook his head. “Sorry. I swear I’ll tell you, the second I hear anything different.” He was still a little puzzled by the fact that Stiles and Allison wanted to have a baby at this point in their lives, but he had already given himself time to think about why he felt that way, and decided it was because he was terrified of having children of his own. 

Allison sighed, looking disappointed, and leaned into Stiles, her head resting on his shoulder. “Dammit,” she muttered, sighing. She looked up at her boyfriend. “How come when we actually _want_ to get pregnant, we can’t, but Lisa Miller spends every other week panicking in the bathroom over a positive test?” She sulked.

“I don’t think it can actually be every other week.” Stiles murmured gently, smiling as he put his arm around Allison. “We’ll have a baby when we have one, okay? We’re still actively trying.” 

Allison propped her chin on his chest and sighed, but smiled. “Okay.” She kissed his chin, wrapping her arms around his middle.

‘Gross.’ Lydia signed, smiling. ‘I should make that a couple sign for the two of you.’ 

Allison stuck her tongue out at Lydia. “If it’s anything but ‘happy,’ I promise I will throw something at you.” She told her, signing along what few words she knew and had picked up, grinning at her best friend.

‘We’re not gross.’ Stiles signed, smiling. ‘You are.’ 

Lydia scowled at Stiles, even though she wasn’t actually angry, and she started signing furiously, her hands flying from one gesture to the next. 

“Hey, guttermouth.” Stiles laughed. “Or gutter hands? Either way, you’re lucky that this town isn’t full of people that know what you’re saying, or you’d be suspended for that.” 

“What did she say?” Allison demanded, letting go of Stiles to lean on the table. She looked at Lydia, smirking. “Tell me! Not fair that I can’t completely understand ASL yet.”

“Well, she started off making a point of the fact that my initials are S.S., and the sign for douchebag is this.” Stiles demonstrated, forming an S with each hand and tapping his wrists together. “And it only got worse from there. I’m pretty sure if I tried to repeat it, my mom would come back from the dead and make me eat soap.” 

Allison snorted. “Probably best if you don’t repeat it, then.” She teased, and tucked herself against him once more, swinging her legs over his. “I don’t like the idea of what soap might taste like.”

“It’s really not good.” Stiles snorted. “I only had to do it once, at least? Actually, my mom isn’t even the one that made me. I had this horrible babysitter. Just the one time, because when my mom found out what she’d done, she told my dad and that was it.” 

“Ugh.” Allison scowled. “Well, your parents and I are agreed at least. That’s disgusting and cruel. I won’t do that to our kids.”

Stiles smiled, kissing Allison again. “Now it’s plural?” He tilted his head a little as he stared into her eyes. “I’m good with that.” 

Allison smiled shyly. “Let’s be real - it was always going to become plural.” She told him and closed her eyes as she hugged him, her forehead resting against the crook of his neck.

“I love you.” Stiles signed to Allison as he said it, already developing the habit of doing both. He knew Lydia wasn’t deaf and could hear just fine, but he didn’t think it would be fair if she was the only one signing all the time. 

Lydia’s mouth opened in a silent giggle, and she put her hand over her lips to hide it. She didn’t regret what she had done. Not really, anyway. She had a second or two, every so often, where she wanted her voice back. But she was mostly embarrassed at the fact that she found herself trying to laugh at something, and no sound came out. At one point, it had sounded a little like she was wheezing, and the two biggest idiots in the pack had freaked out at her. She got her ASL book out of her backpack and started perusing signs, still looking for the one word she thought would describe Derek. 

Allison was eager to learn more, desperate to communicate easily with her friend. She was just having trouble picking up on some of the signs, but there were some that had come a lot more easily for her than the others. She watched Lydia silently, idly playing with Stiles' fingers and forming the sign language for 'I love you' from them, grinning up at him cheekily. "How's Derek doing, Lydia?" She asked curiously.

Lydia glanced up at Allison. ‘He misses my voice. He hasn’t said it, but I know it’s been kind of a pain. I just don’t want him to blame himself for this, on top of everything else. And I feel awful that I haven’t been able to figure out something that seems like the one word meant just for him.’

Stiles nodded at Lydia, not sure he understood every sign she used, but he got the general idea. “Why do you think you’re having such a hard time with it? You came up with signs for us as soon as you figured out what was involved.” 

Lydia sighed. ‘I don’t know.’ She lowered her hands to the table, frowning down at them like it was their fault for not giving her the answers she wanted. 

“You know, you don’t have to just express yourself through signing.” Stiles murmured. He squinted, thinking for a moment. “Okay, Allison and I have something to do. We’ll see you after school.” He got up, reaching for Allison’s hand. “Bye, asshole.” He nodded to Isaac. 

Isaac smiled brightly. “See you later, you stupid dick.” 

Allison snorted, throwing a napkin at Isaac and dodging Stiles’ hand briefly so that she could hug Lydia. “You’ll figure it out. Probably the second we aren’t distracting you anymore, you’ll realize exactly the right thing to call Derek. But don’t stress yourself out about it. He’s nuts about you, he’ll answer to probably anything you call him.” She straightened and took Stiles’ hand.

Isaac threw the napkin back at Allison as the couple walked away. “What’s your sign for Liam?” 

Lydia smiled and signed ‘boy’ while her right hand formed the letter L. 

Liam looked at her curiously as he moved toward her table. “What’s that mean?” He asked, looking up at her. His eyes caught Isaac, and he stared for a moment before directing his gaze back to Lydia again.

Lydia opened her book to the B section and pointed to show Liam. She was tired of signing already, and tired of typing things on her phone. 

Liam furrowed his brow at the book for a moment, and then mimicked what he’d seen Lydia do. “Like this? Is this me?” He smiled at her.

Lydia smiled back and nodded. 

Isaac stood up and leaned toward them, pulling the book back across the table so that he could read it. “Boy?” He laughed.

Liam turned to look at him, raising his eyebrows. “Yeah? What of it? It’s because I’m younger than you guys.” He looked at Lydia. “Right?”

Lydia nodded again. She gave Isaac a curious look, then rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. ‘Going back to the library.’ She signed, shaking her head as she walked away. 

Liam waved after her. “Bye, Lydia!” He looked at Isaac, frowning a bit. “What’s _your_ deal?”

“My _deal_ is that everyone around is pairing off like there’s a worldwide flood warning.” Isaac chuckled. “And that makes this a little more difficult because I don’t want you to think I’m interested just for the sake of not being lonely. It’s also possible that I have daddy issues.” He said casually, eyeing the younger guy. 

Liam flushed. “Oh. Okay? “ He sat back and folded his arms across his chest. “Maybe something _is_ gonna happen soon and that’s why everyone’s hooking up. I’d rather be with someone when something goes down than at the end of the world alone.”

“Ever been interested in guys?” Isaac didn’t want to get his hopes up. It was more likely that Liam was straight, although Isaac had seen the way Liam eyed Scott. 

Liam shook his head shyly, his cheeks red. “But my best friend is.” He added uncertainly.

“Oh. Then I’ve completely embarrassed myself, so I’m going to walk away.” Isaac smiled gently, picking up the book that Lydia had left behind. 

Liam hesitated, then stood up and walked after him. “I mean, I don’t know? I’ve never… There’s never been anyone. And I wouldn’t have done that to Mason. He’s my best friend, it just would’ve been wrong, you know?” He went quiet, frowning, and added, “I like girls, but… I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to… seeing if things could work with another guy.”

“I’m not so sure I want to be your experiment.” Isaac turned to face Liam. “I haven’t really been with a guy either, but I know I want to. I’m not just thinking maybe I’d want to try it.” 

Liam nodded slowly, his face falling a little. “Right, no - I didn’t mean to, like - I get it. Sorry.” He shuffled backward.

Isaac stared at Liam. “Do you even like me?” He blurted, feeling a little embarrassed for asking. 

Liam shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you like me, or were you just asking the first guy you saw that wasn’t Scott?” He grumbled.

“I like you.” Isaac smiled slowly. “You’ve got an anger control problem, and if you ever direct it at me, we’re probably over. But I’d like to give this a try.” 

“According to Stiles, you’ve got an asshole problem, where you’re an asshole all the time.” Liam smirked back at him. “Is that going to be an issue? Because if we’re gonna pair off like everybody else, and we’re both doing this for the first time, the asshole thing needs to take a backseat. At least with me. The anger problem I have is Intermittent Explosive Disorder, and it’s been a huge issue in the past.” The smirk fell from his face, and now he looked awkward. “If that’s gonna be a dealbreaker… I mean, I might actually snap at you. I can’t always control it. If you don’t think you can handle it, and would rather not try, I understand.”

Isaac hesitated. “I didn’t know you were that... out of control.” He admitted. “You don’t have an anchor?” 

Liam shook his head, looking embarrassed. “Uh, no… not really. Nothing’s ever really stuck, I guess. Scott is his own anchor, he says, and Derek’s is his family’s memory, but there was nothing that actually jumped out at me when I was trying to find mine. Derek gave me his triskelion thing, like a lease, and told me to hold on to it while I was saying my chant, and it’s been working for the last year or so, so… there must be something to it, right?”

Isaac shrugged. “My dad’s my anchor. He wasn’t always abusive to me.” He felt a little strange, bringing it up so casually without turning it into a joke. “We can try to take things one day at a time and see how they go.” 

Liam nodded slowly. “Okay.” He said softly. “If we’re going to… do this, I don’t want to rush it, anyway.”

“After school, we could go see a movie?” Isaac suggested carefully. He felt like he was already in over his head, and he was doing his best to ignore the alarm bells going off in his head about Liam. He just doubted that Liam was made up entirely of anger. Isaac’s father hadn’t been, and Isaac wasn’t a wolf, he was a human. Part of person didn’t make up the entirety of who they were. He suddenly understood why Lydia couldn’t think of a sign for Derek. 

Liam ducked his head, nodding. “Okay.” He agreed softly.

***

Lydia set her backpack down on Derek’s couch and went looking for him, smiling a little when she realized she had learned to focus more on listening, now that she couldn’t talk. 

Derek was stretched out across his bed, a book propped on his chest as he read it. His head shot up the second he sensed Lydia in the loft. He smiled and sat up, leaning back against the headboard and waiting silently for her, to see if she could find him.

Lydia ascended the stairs, her lips curving into a smirk as she made eye contact with her boyfriend. She walked around the bed and sat on the side Derek had left open for her. She leaned toward him for a kiss. 

Derek pulled her close immediately, kissing her like she would disappear if she wasn’t in his arms. “How have things been today?” He asked softly, his hand stroking the skin on her thigh gently.

Lydia held a hand up and turned it from side to side. ‘Better now.’ She signed, smiling as she nodded. ‘I missed you.’ 

Derek smiled and tilted his head, tentatively signing. “I missed you, too. It’s… lonely when you aren’t here.” He said the words as he signed, faltering with his fingers. Wrapping his hand around hers, he lifted it and kissed the palm. 

Lydia moved to straddle Derek’s thighs, kissing him again. She put her hands on his shoulders as she leaned into him. She pulled away and put her head down on Derek’s shoulder, taking a deep breath before she started to cry. 

“Lydia…” Derek murmured, pressing kisses to her cheek and forehead. He kissed the tears away from her skin and held her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “It’s alright to cry, sweetheart.” He told her softly. “You have every reason to.”

‘Selfish.’ Lydia signed. She dabbed at her eyes, taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm down. ‘And I can’t figure out a sign for you. I’ve been looking up different words all day and nothing suits you.’

“You aren’t selfish. It’s not selfish to be upset about something like this.” Derek told her, his hand moving up to stroke her back. He rocked her for a moment, content to just be holding her. “I told you that you didn’t need to stress yourself to find out a sign for me, Lydia. I’m happy just being yours.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

Lydia froze for a moment, kissing Derek quickly before she got up and ran down the stairs, unzipping her backpack and throwing things onto the couch in her haste to get to her ASL book. She couldn’t find it, then remembered that she had left it behind at lunch. She sighed and sat down. 

Derek followed her at a more sedate pace, frowning a little. “Sweetheart?” He asked, and settled down beside her. “What are you…” His eyes drifted to her backpack and the mess she’d left in her wake. “Are you missing something? One of your books?” 

Lydia nodded, getting her phone out. ‘I finally figured out a sign for you, and my ASL book is gone.’ 

“Can you look it up online?” Derek’s head cocked to the side, brushing his hand over her hair.

Lydia made a face, but did a search for the sign she wanted, angling the phone away from Derek because she didn’t want him to see just yet. She watched the accompanying video a few times, just to make sure she could do it properly, then formed a D with her hand and signed the word ‘home.’ 

Derek’s entire face softened, and he stared at Lydia, looking stunned and humbled. He reached up to cup her cheek, watching the movement of her hands before mimicking them, this time with an L formed from one hand. He ducked his head down to kiss her headily, breathing deeply and parting his lips to slip his tongue into her mouth. He was panting by the time he pulled back, his forehead pressed against Lydia’s. Clutching her against him tightly, he whispered, “You’re mine, too.”

Lydia smiled at him, pressing her lips together. She turned her head toward the door when she heard the elevator, pouting when she looked back at Derek. She was grateful that the rest of the pack was always close by, but she really couldn’t wait to go to Ireland, where someone wouldn’t interrupt them every twenty minutes.

Derek huffed and hugged her gently, kissing her again. “I’ll get rid of them quickly. I promise.”

Lydia nodded and settled back against the couch as the door opened. 

Stiles walked in, holding Allison’s hand with his right hand and clutching a large shopping bag in his left. “Hey, we ditched the second half of the day because we wanted to get Lydia some things.” 

“Dammit.” Derek snorted, and stood up, moving to sit on the arm of the couch and dropping his arm around Lydia’s shoulders. “What did you get her?”

“A few things.” Stiles set the bag down and knelt behind it, pulling out a couple of maracas. “We went to Redding, to a music store. I thought about getting her drums, but they’re a lot more expensive than you’d think.” He smiled and set a pair of drumsticks down beside the maracas. “Lucky for you, anything can become a drum with drumsticks. Probably. I don’t know, but I guess we’re going to find out. I got some sheet music, just because. I figured Lydia might like the idea of... whatever the hell it’s called when you have to count beats. It’s a math thing, right?” 

“A metronome?” Derek asked, looking amused. “That’s actually really thoughtful, Stiles.”

Allison laughed and curled up on the couch next to Lydia. “We may have gotten a little bit carried away.” She admitted. “But it was kind of fun.”

“Yeah.” Stiles agreed. “But no, not a metronome. There’s like, mathcore and different kinds of music that make a big deal about timing. And drummers are usually the ones that start songs because they’re better at keeping time for it. The guitars and stuff come in later.” 

Lydia smiled. ‘Thank you.’ She leaned forward, taking the things that Stiles held out to her. ‘Was this expensive?’

Stiles frowned. “Sorry, I don’t -” 

Lydia held one finger up, a frustrated look on her face as she grabbed her phone and started typing. “Was this expensive?” 

“Actually, no. They were having an after-Christmas sale. Everything was about forty percent off, and I figure you guys are going to probably end up babysitting for me and Allison eventually, not that she’s pregnant yet, but one day. So maybe this’ll be like, an early payment? But it’s also a _thank you_ ,” Stiles made sure to sign the phrase he knew, “Since you’re still inconvenienced.” 

Allison dropped her head against Lydia’s shoulder. “You gave up your voice for us. What you did was incredible, Lydia, and I’m so sorry that you’re going through this for us, but I’m so grateful to you for doing it.” She looked up at Stiles and reached for his hand, squeezing it. “Honestly. So yes. Thank you. _Thank you._ ”

Lydia hugged Allison, then stood up and hugged Stiles. She picked up the maracas, shaking them idly as she went into the kitchen. It was a little weird, but she understood the intent behind it. 

Stiles followed Lydia, getting a bottle of water for Allison out of the fridge. “We got you an iTunes gift card, too. There are a lot of studies on music therapy, and I just thought...” He frowned. “Okay, this is killing me. It’s not even - I mean, I keep giving you stuff and I know how it might look to some people, but I genuinely don’t have an interest in you anymore. It’s strange, though? Like having a loose tooth and waking up to find out that you swallowed it in your sleep. There’s this gap where my feelings for you aren’t anymore. But I still want to take care of you, and I’ve started doing this thing. Uh, ever since Chloe. Clotho, whatever. Now every girl is somebody’s daughter and I can’t stop seeing them like that. Except for Allison. I block it out, when it comes to her.” 

Lydia made a face at Stiles, silently conveying what she thought about that idea. 

“I know.” Stiles sighed. “But do you really expect me to ever do something normal?” 

Lydia smiled and gestured toward the living room, then pointed at Stiles before she signed ‘baby,’ and walked back into the living room to sit between Derek and Allison. 

Derek smiled down at her, caressing her cheek with a finger when she sat down. “It’s very much appreciated.” He murmured.

Allison grinned. “Good. I’m glad. I just want Lydia to be comfortable.” She glanced at Lydia and twined their fingers together, squeezing her hand.

Lydia turned her head to kiss Derek, then twisted around to face Allison. She pointed behind her, at Derek, then showed Allison the sign she had made for him. 

Allison looked delighted. “You finally have one for him! I told you you’d get it!” She grinned widely. “What’s it mean?”

Lydia pulled up the search on her phone and held it out to Allison as Stiles came back into the living room. 

“Aww!” Allison cooed, and pressed her shoulder fondly against the other girl’s.

Stiles held a bottle of water out to Allison and sat down on the floor, facing her. 

Allison repeated the motion. “Lydia called Derek ‘home.’” She told him, smiling and taking the water bottle from Stiles.

Stiles grinned. “That’s adorable.” He glanced over at Derek. “Hey, how much rent are you charging per month for your apartments?” 

Derek furrowed his brow, his fingers twisting a lock of Lydia's hair around and around on his finger. "Uh... I'm not, actually. The apartments aren't really fixed up, except for Malia's. Cora is staying in this one with me, but the rest of them are just... Empty. Painted and clean, but empty."

"Okay, but you plan on having tenants, right? Or did you mean for the whole pack to live here? What I'm actually asking is when you think Allison and I can move in. I'm still looking for a job, since the second she's pregnant, there will be doctor visits and baby stuff. I just need to know if I should budget for rent each month." Stiles explained. "Don't lecture us on being young parents, please."

Derek smiled, shaking his head. "My mom was pregnant with my older brother at eighteen. No lecturing from me." He looked down at Lydia for a moment, and then smiled. "A part of me always kind of thought I could remodel this place into a safe haven for the pack. Give me a couple of days to think about what I want to do to the apartments, but yeah - yes. You've got a spot here, definitely."

Allison lit up like he'd just presented her the world. "Derek, really? Oh, god. Thank you. Thank you so much." She leaned around Lydia, giving Derek a tight squeeze before dropping back against Stiles, hugging him tightly around the middle.

Stiles grinned and kissed Allison. “Thank you, Derek.” He murmured, laughing a little. He had been worried that Derek would say no, and that he and Allison would have to find somewhere else, fill out rental applications, and hope for the best. 

Derek smiled. “Look at it this way - if you move out and get a house instead of an apartment, in the future, you’ll have a glowing recommendation from your former landlord.”

“We could do that.” Stiles agreed easily. “But we’re not thinking of anything like that.”

Lydia knew Stiles hated it, but she went back to using her phone, just for the ease of communication. “You need a house with a nice-sized backyard for your kids to run around in. And the other kids in the pack, too. This building is great, but there’s nowhere for a sandbox.” She smiled, all too familiar with the story of how Stiles and Scott met. She started typing again. “And I expect all of the kids to become best friends.” 

“They don’t need a sandbox of their own for that, Lydia.” Stiles laughed when he realized he was getting choked up by her words. He dragged his sleeve across his eyes. “Um, they’ll just follow our example.” 

Allison patted Stiles' arm soothingly and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Of course they're all going to be best friends. And family. Our kids are going to grow thinking that it's totally normal that Uncle Derek can can turn into a fully grown wolf whenever he feels like it, and that Aunt Lydia can run circles around them mathematically, and your kids are going to want to take archery lessons and learn detective skills from me and Stiles." Her voice faltered at the end and she found herself giggling through tears and wiping her own eyes as her imagination ran wild. She looked up at Stiles. "But maybe we can get them a sandbox, anyway? Just so they have a friendship story of their own, like Daddy and Uncle Scott?"

Derek glanced down at Lydia, a little startled at Allison's pronouncement of children for himself and the banshee, and then smiled to himself. Personally, he thought it was way too early for them - but he found himself not minding if it happened eventually. He refused to allow anything to interfere with Lydia's future, and then sighed. Anymore than the supernatural already had, anyway. He missed hearing her voice, and was well aware that she knew that, but he couldn't help it. He did know that timed spells, once cast, couldn't be rushed, and Lydia would get her voice back sooner rather than later. He hoped. 

Lydia smiled back at Derek, kissing him lightly and putting her head down on his shoulder. She wasn’t sure she wanted children of her own, but she also used to think that she would marry Jackson. Nothing turned out as a person expected, and she knew that. 

Derek nuzzled the top of her head gently, then kissed her crown before curling his arm around her and holding her close.

Allison was quiet, smiling as she watched the other two. She looked up at Stiles and tugged on his hand. "I think we should give them some alone time. And I want some alone time with you." She whispered in his ear. "I wanna try harder to see how much sooner Daddy," she ran her hand over his chest, "can make me a Mommy."

Stiles stood up and smiled. “Let’s go home, then.” He held his hands out to Allison. 

Allison reached for him, grinning, and pressed a kiss to his lips. She turned to wiggle her fingers at Lydia and Derek. “We’ll see you two later.” She told them, and slid her arms around Stiles’ waist.

Derek raised his hand to them, waving them off. “We’ll see you later.” He told them, not looking away from Lydia. “But not too soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Regarding Lydia being mute**
> 
> This chapter was a little unexpected for us to write. There are a lot of fics that use similar tropes, where a character gives up something for the good of the pack. Lydia giving up her voice was only intended to last a chapter or two. Halfway into the previous chapter, it came up in our discussion that giving her back her voice so easily was kind of a cheap thing to do. This will last a long time, and it's going to have an impact on everyone around her. 
> 
> Learning American Sign Language (ASL for short) doesn't seem like it's that difficult, but when your hands are incapable of bending a certain way, it can lead to a lot of frustration. Also, in trying to get these signs to be accurate, a lot of (probably erroneous) research had to happen. There's only one source that provided the double-S sign for _douchebag_ , and that was Wikipedia. Not exactly the most credible source of information, but Stiles and Scott were eager to learn every swear word or insult they could. Since it's the only thing we could find, we decided it's the only thing they could find. Even thought it might not be accurate, it's what they're using here. (And the added bonus of the double-S just seemed too good to pass up.)
> 
> Name signs (or sign names, depending on how you prefer to phrase it) are intended to be given to a hearing person by a deaf person, and any attempt to circumvent that is frowned upon in the deaf community. However, Lydia only communicates with a select group of people on a daily basis, and all of them can hear without any trouble. There are no deaf students at BHHS, within this 'verse; Lydia is the only one who really needs ASL to communicate, so she felt she should be the one to make up name signs. It's also considered rude to make up one for yourself. It has to be given to you, and the other pack members know Lydia well enough to do that for her. 
> 
>  
> 
> **Malia's casual mention of sex**
> 
> We didn't tag this because it was just a casual, one-line mention of things that happened pre-fic. If you think she was joking, she was joking. We wanted to leave it open to interpretation, as much as we could. 
> 
> That being said? Malia, as a coyote, was old enough to have sex with other coyotes or whatever other animal she (being an animal) wanted to. We would prefer not to add the bestiality tag, due to the fact that Malia was not human at the time of any possible sexual encounter she had with another animal. She barely sees herself as human in this 'verse and has expressed interest in going back to being a coyote. To tag bestiality, we feel, would be the equivalent of saying a transgendered person should only identify as the gender they were at birth. 
> 
> No actual bestial situations will be occurring in this 'verse.


	24. Darling, Never Settle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa had a smile on her face as she approached the door - one that blinked out and transformed into confusion when she opened it and saw Stiles on the other side. “Wha - Stiles?” She glanced at the door, and then back to the young man. “You’re knocking? Why are you knocking?”
> 
> “I don’t know.” Stiles blurted, his eyes wide. “Uh, be- because I’m trying to be nicer?” He glanced down at his shoes, then looked back up at her. “I need to talk to you. Well, I guess need isn’t the right word, since you’re not... but you sort of are... um. Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title comes from Gold by Sir Sly.

_January 29, 2013_

Malia opened her apartment door and leaned out, toward the elevator. She was used to the grinding gears and could identify who was around, based on their heartbeat. What she didn’t understand, however, was who the newcomer was in the elevator with Stiles and Allison. She turned and pulled her door shut, racing up the stairs to Derek’s apartment, just in case something bad was happening. She wanted to protect her cousin, since he had been so kind to her. 

Derek frowned and pulled the door open for Malia the second he heard her footsteps, and he stepped to the side to let her in. “What’s wrong?” He asked immediately, reaching for her arm. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“Listen.” Malia waved a hand toward the elevator. “Stiles’ heartbeat is a little fast, and Allison’s is normal, I guess. But there’s a quieter one and it’s really fast.” 

Derek stuck his head out of the doorway, listening intently but didn’t let go of Malia, keeping her close against his side. He frowned at the steady, quickened heartbeat. “Chloe - ah, Clotho, maybe? In child form again?” He paused, then shook his head. “No, wait. It’s too quick, it’s… it sounds a little like…”

“Baby.” Allison crooned at Stiles as they walked toward the apartment, jumping onto his back and resting her head against his as her legs wrapped around his waist. 

Malia moved back to let the couple in. “It’s louder.” She told Derek, not looking at him. 

“What’s louder?” Stiles turned his head to kiss Allison as he let go of her legs, careful that she didn’t fall from his back. 

Derek jerked upright, his eyebrows raised. “The - are you?” He frowned. “Do you -”

Allison snorted, kissing Stiles back and sliding down to the ground. “English, Derek. Sentences? Grammar? Come on, I know you’re an English nerd.” She teased. “What are you trying to say?”

Derek glanced at Malia, unable to hide his amused smile before turning back to the other two. “I think your dreams just came true.”

“Our - my -” Stiles turned toward Allison. “You’re pregnant.” He burst out laughing, excited. “Okay, we need to go get you some tests, just to show our dads, and, um... baby blankets.” 

Allison stared down at her stomach in disbelief, touching it in awe. She swallowed, and her lower lip wobbled a little before she let out a breathless little laugh. “Hi, baby.” She said softly, and wiped a bit at her eyes. She stared up at Stiles, and then looked at Derek and Malia. “I’m really pregnant.” 

Malia nodded, grinning. “Yeah, you are.” 

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s stomach, staring down like if he focused hard enough, he could see the baby. He leaned forward to kiss Allison. “What do you want to do?” 

Allison laughed softly as she kissed him back. “I don’t know. I just - I’m kind of stunned, and I want to do everything and nothing and -” Her eyes widened a little. “Clotho. I want to contact Clotho. I have no idea how to do it, but I want to.”

“We’ll find her.” Stiles nodded. “I think I know how.” 

Derek raised his head. “How? And why, I mean?”

Allison flashed him a small smile. “I’m pretty sure - _we’re_ pretty sure that she’s the reason we’re going to even have a baby.”

“She decides when someone should be born, and who should give birth to them.” Stiles grinned. “She’s given us a kid. We should at least thank her. I know our town is warded from the Furies, but the rest of the world isn’t. All I really have to do is drive past the ‘Now Leaving Beacon Hills’ sign and wait. They took the Fates away from us, they can tell us where they are.” 

“You aren’t going alone.” Allison told him firmly, squeezing his hand. “You take Scott and Derek with you. Malia and Cora, too, maybe. Okay?”

Stiles nodded, kissing Allison again. “Okay. But I want to tell everyone, first. I’ll call Scott while you text Lydia? I know you’re dying to tell her. Do you wanna tell my dad first, or yours?” 

Allison groaned. “Yours. He adored Chloe. We tell my dad first, and he’s gonna be all ‘you’re too young, what about college, blah blah blah, I’m going to shoot Stiles’ and I don’t have the energy to deal with that right now.”

“There will be no shooting Stiles.” Stiles protested. “Stiles likes to not be shot, thank you. Let’s not tell your dad. I mean, he’ll have to know eventually. Fifth birthday, maybe.” 

“I was thinking her - or his - graduation, actually?” Allison looked at him hopefully.

Derek ducked his head when he snorted.

Stiles twisted around to look at Derek. “Hey, no laughing. You’re related to Re-Peter, the wolf that wouldn’t die.” 

“Not for lack of trying.” Derek sighed, looking like he’d bitten into a bitter lemon. His uncle was still a sore topic, particularly with the latest revelations regarding the Argents in addition to every stupid thing Peter had ever done, or put him through.

Stiles frowned. “Sorry. My sense of humor has always been fucked up, dude.” 

Derek waved the apology off. “It sucks, it’s in no way ideal, but he is who he is, and… Well, he’s out of my life as much as he can be now. Your sense of humor is fine, Stiles.”

“No, probably not.” Stiles muttered. “I’ve been trying to be nicer. I’m gonna be a dad. Officially now, and everything. I don’t want any of my kids to think I’m an asshole. Or know I’m an asshole. Whatever.” 

Derek grinned at him. “Don’t worry. We’ll hide the truth. They’ll think their dad is an angel.” He glanced at Allison and winked. “Albeit with a crooked halo.”

Allison giggled.

“Well, we’re not naming _this one_ after you.” Stiles pouted. 

“Aww, pouty.” Allison cooed at him, pressing a kiss to his chin. “Go call Scott, and we’ll worry about what to call this one later. I’ll text Lyds, like you said.”

Stiles got his phone out and started texting Scott, unable to stop grinning. 

***

After telling everyone else in the pack and buying the requisite pregnancy tests, Stiles felt like he might want to start packing his things now, just in case his dad didn’t take the news so well. 

Allison pressed her finger against his side. “Calm down. I really don’t think your dad is going to go rage monster and try to kick us out of town or something, Stiles.”

“You’re talking about the guy that’s responsible for doing drug busts at least once a week. And while I agree that illegal things have no place around here, or anywhere, really? I also think there’s not much else to do in this town, other than get sex and have high.” Stiles shook his head. “Get high and have sex. I’m getting myself all mixed up right now.” 

Allison couldn’t help laughing. “You know I think it’s adorable.” She told him. “And yes, I know exactly who you’re talking about. Do you know who _I’m_ talking about?” She turned to face him properly, looking him in the eyes. “I’m talking about the same man that didn’t hesitate to believe us when we told him we thought that Chloe was our daughter. I’m talking about the same man that picked her up and carried her to bed and practically wrestled us to get some time to spend with her, even when he knew he had to be at the sheriff’s department at ass-o’clock in the morning. Maybe he’s going to be a little flustered that we’re having a baby at eighteen, and he might scream at us a little, but he wouldn’t throw us aside.”

Stiles nodded. “Okay.” He laughed. “It’s a little weird for me that you have so much faith in my dad, but I distinctly remember being grounded yesterday for refusing to give him bacon, so - that happened.” 

Allison dropped her head to Stiles’ shoulder, laughing. “Well, if you hadn’t been doing the ‘neener neener’ dance while you were refusing…”

“Hey, I’m still in high school. I’m supposed to be immature. It’ll go away as soon as we graduate. I promise.” Stiles murmured, smiling. 

Allison nuzzled him happily. “I hope it never goes away.” She admitted. “I love that about you.”

“You know what I love about you?” Stiles teased, leaning toward Allison for another kiss. 

“What’s that?” Allison murmured, reaching up to cup his face as she responded to his kiss.

“The fact that you could have asked anyone else to come to Paris, but you invited me. The fact that I know I said stupid things when we started talking again, but you didn’t care. And your eyes. Your smile. You could have stayed with Scott, but you didn’t. You’re having a baby with me.” Stiles spoke quietly, staring at Allison. 

Allison’s eyes were soft, and her fingers latched onto the hem of Stiles’ shirt, tugging gently as she stared back up at him. She nodded. “I’m having a baby with you.” She repeated, a shaky smile on her face. “I’m in love with _you_. I wanted you to come see me in Paris, wanted it badly enough that it didn’t even cross my mind that I’d be interrupting your classes. Any stupid things you might have said to me were just - I really _didn’t_ care. I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted to hear your voice, read your words, see your smile, look into your eyes, and I…” Her voice cracked and she took a shaky breath. “Stiles, I think I fell in love with you then. In Paris. On the chat app. I don’t want Scott, or Isaac, or anyone else except for you.”

Stiles put his hands on Allison’s shoulders, leaning in for another kiss as he heard the door open. He pulled away reluctantly and picked up the plastic sandwich bag that the positive pregnancy test was contained in, since he figured it would be a little gross to just hand off something Allison had peed on. “Dad, can you come in here and sit down?” 

“Be right there!” John called. “Is there dinner, or do you want me to order something?” He asked a moment later, his voice lowering the closer he got to them, and he raised his eyebrows as he caught sight of them standing together. “Okay, I’m a little concerned at why I suddenly feel like I’m gonna get a talking to for something I might have done. Is this how you feel when I drag you into my office, Stiles?” 

“Shit, I forgot to make dinner.” Stiles blurted. “Oh god, it’s starting.” He took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, um... here.” He held the sandwich bag out to his dad. 

Allison pressed a gentle kiss against Stiles’ jaw, squeezing his hand and silently reminding him that she was there for him. She looked at John, raising her chin bravely.

John blinked slowly, taking the sandwich bag. “Oh, boy.” He blurted, recognizing the item inside instantly - after all, he and Renee had gone through enough of them just trying to get pregnant with Stiles that John could probably identify one blindfolded by now. “You… Really.” He looked utterly dumbfounded.

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded, putting an arm around Allison’s waist. “We already had this whole talk with each other about how old we are and how old we aren’t, and might not have been, and everything. I mean, the fact that the Fates basically got tossed into time-out for bringing us back is a big deal, and we didn’t want to waste any opportunities. But we also, you know, think we’re old enough to have this figured out. Allison is going to take online courses for college until she has the baby, and we’re going to live in an apartment at Derek’s building. And I’ll probably just start training to be a deputy as soon as I can. It’ll be this summer. Once I’m done with that, I can get a job at the station, or take online classes too, and work somewhere else.” 

John nodded slowly, taking a deep, even breath. “I see.” He murmured, scratching at his chin. He carefully set the pregnancy test on the table, faltering for a moment about whether he should hand it back to Stiles, or Allison or not. “So, uh. You’ve thought this through, then. You both think you can handle this?” He didn’t ask to be cruel, his voice sounding genuinely curious and concerned.

Allison looked at Stiles, and then looked back at the Sheriff, then nodded once. “I think we can handle all of it and more. We’re both going to need jobs, regardless of whether I’ll actually be able to get up and work once I have the baby, but Derek hasn’t said anything about charging us rent for the apartment, so the majority of our funds, we can actually pool together and save for things that we can buy for the baby. I’m sure my father would be willing to help us once he’s finished losing his mind, and we’re hoping that you’ll be on our side as well. We have the biggest support group that two people could have, sir. We have people who love us and are more than willing to help us when we need it.”

“We’ve sort of been planning this for a month.” Stiles admitted. “But if it had been earlier in the school year, we wouldn’t have even - the timing just feels right for us.” He stammered. “And now I have to go tell someone who owns a lot of weapons that I got his daughter pregnant.” 

John snorted. “No offense, Allison, your father may have a hell of a lot more weapons than I do, but I only need one weapon to make my point stick. Whatever he plans on pointing at my kid, he can lay it right back down again.”

Allison smirked. “I, for one, would love to hear you tell him that, sir.”

Stiles smiled. “Me too, actually.” 

***

“I’m not okay with this. I’m _not_! Allison, you’re eighteen! That is nowhere near enough responsible to have a child, let alone take care of one. What about college? What about work? I thought you wanted to enroll in the police academy? How are you going to do that with a baby on the way?” Chris raged, throwing dirty glares at Stiles every so often as he spoke.

Allison stood firm, crossing her arms over her chest and staring her father down. “I’ve already thought everything through, and none of it involves my father screaming at me like I don’t know what I want, or what my own body will go through. You know I love Stiles, Dad.” She looked back at her boyfriend. “You know how much Chloe meant to us. I’m old enough now to know exactly what I want, and what I want as soon as possible is a family with my boyfriend. Fate itself is giving us this gift.” She turned to narrow her eyes at Chris. “You can either accept it and support us, and be a part of this baby’s life, or you…” She trailed off and swallowed. “You don’t.”

Stiles put his arms around Allison, trying to think of something to say. He knew Chris hated him, had pretty much always hated him for one reason or another, over the past couple of years. “This is something that Allison and I agreed on, together. We’ve got the rest of the pack already agreeing to help us out with things we need, but we’re not going to rely on them for everything. I’ll work until graduation, and then I’m going to the academy while Allison takes online classes. When the baby is born, we’ll both take care of her. Or him.” 

Chris stared at Allison in disbelief, his gaze only jerking away from her when Stiles spoke. He shook his head. “I can’t… You - my _daughter_ , Stiles. You knocked up my little girl. I don’t care if this is something you had planned. She had a future ahead of her, she could do anything she wanted, and now because of you, she’s stuck. Why the hell would you do that to her? You could have waited a couple of years, at least until you were in your twenties and finished with school, I wouldn’t have minded then!”

Allison snapped. “It’s not your business to mind, Dad!”

“Oh my god.” Stiles muttered, lowering his head and putting a hand over his eyes. “Okay, both of you need to stop right now.” He looked up at Allison, then stood up straight. “This isn’t good for the baby, you’re supposed to take it easy in the first trimester.” He smiled and kissed her. “Go get a drink of water or something, please? Your dad obviously isn’t done berating me, so I’m going to let him get this all out of his system because it doesn’t even matter, anyway. We’re still doing this.” 

Allison shut her eyes and tried to relax, inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly before she kissed Stiles back and nodded. “Okay. Okay.” Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Do you want anything?”

“Maybe just a soda.” Stiles nodded. “Thank you.” He turned toward Chris. “Okay, you left off with, uh, I knocked up your daughter? So... please continue?” 

Chris blew out a breath and sat down, watching Allison as she pressed a kiss to Stiles’ lips before turning and walking into the kitchen. He groaned softly, putting his head in his hands. “This wasn’t what I wanted for her. She was supposed to finish high school, and then go to college, wherever she wanted to go, and _then_ she could have kids, whenever she wanted them.” He scowled. “Even with you.”

"How about if you let her make a decision for herself?" Stiles sat down across from Chris. "Do you think someone like me could force Allison to do anything she didn't want to?" He snorted. "Do you even know her? The fact is, you hated when she was with Scott, even though he's always been nothing but nice to everyone. You hated Isaac for being a werewolf, too. But he went through a lot before Derek gave him a better shot at survival. Not that it matters to you. I'm not a werewolf. I'm just an ordinary guy, and I thought I'd go unnoticed for the rest of my probably short life. And that actually turned out to be true, but anyway... I love Allison. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I'm the best choice for her. It doesn't matter who dates her, you'd hate them. But I'm the guy _she_ wants to be with. That's all that matters to me. If that ever changes, you can go on to hating the next guy. But personally? I kind of plan on being with her forever. Actually forever. I'm friends with one of the Fates, it could happen." He smiled. 

Chris didn't smile back, but there was the barest hint of amusement in his eyes at Stiles' words that said, maybe, he wanted to but was too busy feeling put out by his daughter's life choices. "You're damn right you aren't good enough for her. She deserves the absolute best." He frowned and shook his head. "But I suppose... since the absolute best would involve nothing short of a miracle walking the earth... She might as well be with someone who wants forever with her." He was silent for a beat. "This is the barest minimum of approval. I'm never going to like anyone she dates, you're right about that. I think you're a smartass, and a troublemaker, and I know it wasn't your fault, but you nearly got my little girl killed. I'm never going to be on your side, probably for that alone, because I could have lost her, and I've already lost too much." He took a deep breath. "But you love her. And you make her happy, and as her dad, that's all I could ever want for her. Someone who wants to treat her like the princess she is, who wants to move the moon for her. Someone who'll take care of her when I forcibly have to give up my right to by dying. If you can do that, if you promise me that absolutely nothing will ever be more important to you than her..." He looked up at Stiles, blinking slightly wet blue eyes. "Then we have an understanding. And I'll back off."

"I can't do that." Stiles said earnestly. "I love her and she loves me, and we'll protect each other, yeah. But we've got a kid on the way now and you're just going to have to accept that Allison can't have one hundred percent of my attention. I know I won't have one hundred percent of hers." He decided not to correct Chris about the reality of how things had originally gone, since he'd already said as much and it had slipped past the hunter. "I don't really care what you think of me, anyway. Ally's the only good person in your family. You're... not terrible, but she still outranks you. I have a feeling you agree with me on that, at least."

Chris sighed. "Yeah, well. You'd be right. She's a leader. She always has been, and she was always meant to take over this family when she was old enough. You saw what happened when my father tried running the show behind the scenes. There's a reason the women in our family were trained the way they were, and Allison is no different." Chris leaned back for a moment, rocking himself before settling himself with his elbows on his knees again. "You've got the right attitude, at least," he murmured begrudgingly. "Your baby deserves every bit of attention you can give them. So I'm revising my earlier challenge. Promise me that Allison and your kids will always be number one. And yes, I'll still back off."

Stiles started to nod, but shook his head, instead. "I don't think that’s what either of us want. I mean, myself and Allison. The criticism, yeah, we don't need that. We're having kids whether you approve or not. But you've already done all of this. Insight would be appreciated."

Chris blinked. "You want my advice?" He asked, looking vaguely stunned.

Allison chose that moment to creep back into the room, handing Stiles his drink and wrangling him into a position that would allow her to sit in his lap smoothly. "I always want your advice, Dad. I'm an adult, and about to do adult things. That doesn't mean I don't need you."

Stiles wrapped an arm around Allison's waist, his fingers splayed over her stomach as he took a drink from the soda in his other hand. He set it aside. "Not to be a downer here, but we're pretty much all from single parent homes now. Allison's got Melissa and Natalie to talk to - it's a little weird to call them that. But you're the only one that can tell her what her mom went through. We really have talked about everything."

Allison's hand pressed over Stiles' as she looked up at her father. "I need to know what to expect. I need to be aware of every single little thing that went right or wrong, from her cravings to her morning sickness to Braxton Hicks to the day she gave birth to me. I want everything. I want to be as prepared as possible for this."

Chris blew out a deep breath. "You really have talked about everything, haven't you?" He wondered. He rubbed at his temples for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Of course I'll tell you. I'll tell you anything you need or want to know, Ally."

The beam that spread across Allison's face practically lit up the room, and she lunged off of Stiles' lap to hug Chris. "Thank you, Daddy." She whispered, clinging to his shoulders tightly.

Chris pressed a kiss to the side of her head and hugged her back. His eyes met Stiles' over her shoulder. "Always." He murmured.

Stiles nodded to Chris, then tapped his fingers nervously against the arm of the chair he was in. "I'm going to talk to Melissa, but you don't have to." He murmured. "You can stay here and talk."

Allison smiled back at Stiles gratefully, bending down to kiss him. "I'll be with you soon." She said out loud, her eyes thanking him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Stiles smiled and got up, putting his arms around Allison as he kissed her again. He grabbed his coat and put it on, glancing back at her one more time before he walked outside. 

Chris watched them interact and sighed. "Dammit. You really do love him, don't you?" He whined.

Allison let out a laugh, her shoulders shaking, and she nodded. "Kind of a lot. Definitely."

Chris smiled at her, his eyes sad. "Well okay, then."

***

Stiles had his keys out of his pocket and was about to use the one he made, intending to let himself into the McCall house, when he realized what he was doing and stopped. He took a deep breath, shoving the keys back into his pocket before he knocked and took a step back. 

Melissa had a smile on her face as she approached the door - one that blinked out and transformed into confusion when she opened it and saw Stiles on the other side. “Wha - Stiles?” She glanced at the door, and then back to the young man. “You’re knocking? Why are you knocking?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles blurted, his eyes wide. “Uh, be- because I’m trying to be nicer?” He glanced down at his shoes, then looked back up at her. “I need to talk to you. Well, I guess need isn’t the right word, since you’re not... but you sort of are... um. Yeah.” 

Melissa’s eyes softened and she stepped back. “Okay, number one, you’ve been wandering in and out of my house for the last decade and a half, whether it was through the front door, or through Scott’s window. I’m not about to start making you knock now. You are welcome here any time. Unless I have guests, and then I expect you to get the hell out, deal?” She smiled. “Number two, get your ass in here. I’m here for you to talk to, no matter what. I’m going to get you a soda and a slice of apple pie with some ice cream, we’re going to sit down, and you’re going to tell me what’s got you looking so completely terrified.”

Stiles nodded and walked into the house. “You might yell at me. Like, a lot? Probably a lot.” He cautioned her, going into the kitchen and getting out plates and silverware. 

Melissa went to the fridge and pulled out a full tin of pie, carefully slicing into it and laying it on one of the plates before reaching into the freezer for ice cream and putting a scoop on top of the pie. She closed the carton and put it back into the freezer, then got a can of Coke out for Stiles before she shut the door. She left the pie tin sitting on the counter, and turned around to sit down at the table, folding her arms before she looked up at Stiles to answer him. “And why am I going to yell at you a lot?”

“Allison is pregnant.” Stiles sat down across from Melissa. “We had a lot of long talks and decided we wanted to have a kid, so it’s not like - I mean, I know all about precautions and all of that. But I don’t have...” He took a deep breath and started again when he felt himself getting choked up. “I’m kind of freaking out because I thought it would take her longer.” He laughed, but not because he thought it was funny. “I’m clumsy as hell and I break things just by looking at them, and now there’s going to be a baby and I’m an asshole that climbs into my best friend’s window, and how am I going to be a good dad, knowing I just fu-” He bit his lip. “I didn’t even think I was going to fall apart on you. Sorry.” 

Melissa stood up from her seat, made her way around the table and grabbed Stiles’ shoulders with both hands, tugging him against her into a firm hug. “You’re allowed to fall apart.” She told him firmly. “It’s practically written into human DNA to freak out when it comes to kids. You think I didn’t have my own when I found out I was pregnant with Scott? Rafe was thrilled, running around and telling everyone that had ears that I was pregnant, and meanwhile, I kept thinking ‘Oh god, how badly am I going to screw this kid up? Please don’t let me drop him on his head. Please don’t let me ruin everything when it comes to raising him.’” She ran her fingers through his hair affectionately, the same way she did for Scott. “You’re a good boy, and you’re going to be a great man. You’re going to be a great _dad_ , just like your dad, honey. No one expects you to be perfect, no one thinks that you’re going to get everything right on the first try. I guarantee you that Allison is probably having her own freak out thoughts in the back of her head, and they just haven’t made their way out yet because she’s still excited about the whole novelty of it right now.” She hugged him again, tightly. “Anyway, my point is you aren’t the first person that’s ever had these thoughts, and you won’t be the last, but you sure as hell aren’t going to be alone through it.”

Stiles nodded slowly. “Okay.” He took another deep breath. “Well, I kinda figured I’d just say Allison is pregnant and you’d smack me for being irresponsible. But I did want to ask if you’d be willing to talk when I freak out. I just don’t want it to get like this again.” He gestured toward himself, a slightly frustrated smile on his face. “I also kind of wanted to say that I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me over the years, even though I haven’t acted like it. Um, since we decided we were going to have a baby, I’ve been really focused on just trying to be a better person. Everything looks different now.” 

Melissa smiled softly. “It usually does once you find out that you’re responsible for a tiny new person. But don’t be in such a rush to be a ‘better’ person, Stiles. You really are a good person. You didn’t need to change for Allison to fall in love with you, did you?” She sat back and pushed the plate of pie at Stiles. “Eat. The ice cream is going to melt and get all soupy and disgusting. I wouldn’t smack you for this, Stiles. I figured you already had to be half out of your mind with terror, whether you’d planned this pregnancy or not.” She got her own fork and went right for the pie tin, digging into the pie without lifting a slice onto her plate. “Just because you’ve never said it, or never acted like it, it doesn’t mean I don’t know, honey. You’re Scott’s best friend. You’re like his brother. Sometimes, I honestly don’t think he would have survived even the first grade without you.” She took a bite, chewed and swallowed, then smiled. “Think of all of those thwaps upside the head, and unwanted motherly advice as thank yous for getting my kid through grade school and middle school and high school alive. I can be there for you no matter what you need or want, okay? Especially now. That goes for Allison, too. I’m sure it must be difficult for her without her mother around for these things.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah. We just told her dad and I kind of wanted to get out of there and come talk to you.” He admitted, snorting. “Chris hates me. I told him I get it, you know? That he’d hate anyone that dates Allison. And I might have told him I don’t care what he thinks, I think he’s a dick.” 

Melissa flicked his ear. “Chris is also a man that just lost his father, his sister, and his wife all within two years, and is bound to be a little clingy in regards to the only family he has left, Stiles. He isn’t being a dick because he hates you. He’s being a dick because he’s terrified of having to say goodbye to his daughter. He’s not the most important man in her life anymore, and he knows it, and it’s scaring him shitless because he doesn’t have Victoria’s… Victoria’s…” She grimaced. “Well, whatever it was that Victoria brought to the table that calmed him down. God knows I don’t know what it was.” She rubbed his back. “Give him a break. He’ll come around.” She took another bite of pie and swiped some of Stiles’ ice cream, looking at him sideways. “What about your dad? Did you tell him?”

“Yeah, we told him first because we knew he’d take it better than her dad.” Stiles admitted. “He didn’t really have any questions for us, other than to ask if we were sure this was what we wanted. It is.” He felt more confident as he spoke, now that he had finally told someone about his concerns. “I really love her. I’ve been trying to figure out if I should ask her to marry me, but I think I might wait? I mean, Lydia and Derek are planning this big trip to Ireland after we all graduate, and I know Allison won’t want to get married if Lydia can’t be there. And we’re going to have all of these other expenses, so that’s kind of a bigger priority right now.” 

Melissa nodded. “Focus on what you’ll be able to handle right now, that’s good. Allison loves you enough that she wants to have your child. Marriage isn’t going anywhere, Stiles.” She looked vaguely surprised. “So your dad’s okay with all of this, then? Huh. I figured there would’ve been more yelling.” Her lips quirked. “Maybe your dad wants to be a grandpa just as badly as you want to be a dad.”

“He was great with Chloe. Clotho.” Stiles smiled. “I’m going to try to contact her. Allison and I decided that we’re going to start sitting out some of these things. We’re trying to be safer and not die.” 

“Being safe is good. Just… you know you won’t be able to avoid all of it, right?” Melissa’s face was concerned. “I haven’t been a part of this as much or as long as you have, but if there’s one thing I’ve managed to figure out, it’s when you try and avoid it that it comes to drag you right back in.”

Stiles nodded. “I still want to help, just from a ‘sit at home and research’ capacity. We’re not risking the baby, and we’re going to do our best to make sure she - or he - grows up with both of us around.” 

Melissa smiled at him. “That’s a good attitude to have.”

“Thank you.” Stiles smiled back. “And thank you again for talking to me about all of this and not threatening me with castration.” He glanced toward the living room. “Is Scott even home? I kind of figured that the sound of my voice would propel him down the stairs.” 

Melissa snorted. “Normally, yes, but the brat with the supernatural hearing probably understood what we were talking about and forced himself to stay away.” She turned to look over her shoulder. “ _Scott_! It’s safe to come down now!”

Scott barreled down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen, jumping on Stiles’ back. “You’re gonna be a dad, dude! I’m gonna be Uncle Scott! Mom, I’m gonna be an uncle!”

Melissa started laughing.

Stiles grinned and patted Scott’s hand. “You’re going to be the best uncle, too.” He nodded. “Because when the kid’s old enough to play computer games, you can tell them all about that time you got to level ninety in World of Warcraft. Oh, wait. That hasn’t happened yet. Well, you have until September, so...” 

“Wait, what’s happening in September?” Scott sputtered. “Why don’t I have longer? Do you know how long it’s going to take me to get to level ninety? I am freaking _sick_ of Westfall and Duskwood, dude!”

Stiles laughed. “So dungeon until you get to a higher level.” He shrugged. “I gave up on Hope Saldean awhile ago, Scotty. She’s a brat and her mom is stupid. What kind of person asks you to go kill coyotes and bring you their tails? The meat is right there in your inventory, but you can’t even give it to her.” He was on his feet a second later when the front door burst open.

Malia looked irritated. “Who’s killing coyotes?” 

“Oh my god.” Stiles grimaced. “How is this my life? Malia, you can’t just go around breaking doors because of something you heard people talking about.” 

“No one’s killing coyotes, Malia.” Melissa told the girl, grimacing at her front door. “We’ll have to hold a service for my door, however.”

Scott went to Malia, grabbing her hands. “It’s a computer game, that’s all. Online gaming. That asks things that don’t always make sense, but it’s fun to play? The coyotes don’t look like coyotes. Not all the time.”

Malia frowned at the door. “I’ll buy you a new one. I have some money. Somewhere. But what game is this?” 

“World of Warcraft.” Scott told her. “It was Stiles’ Christmas present from me, that I’d start playing it again I mean. It’s actually kind of cool, but it’s taking me forever to get anywhere.” He scowled.

“I want to play.” Malia looked back and forth between Scott and Stiles. “I’m trying to find good things about being a human, and if it’s fun, then I want to do it.” 

Scott looked at Stiles and grinned. “One more for the guild?”

Stiles grinned back. “Yes. This is awesome. We’ve been playing as Alliance toons because we got sick of the Horde, so you might actually want to make a human, since then you can level up faster and help Scott get past the parts of Azeroth he hates.” 

“Which is pretty much everywhere except for Stormwind, the Plaguelands, Stranglethorn, and Tirisfal.” Scott muttered, scowling.

Melissa sighed. “Okay, I’m in over my head and completely lost now, so I’m going to go… do something.” She stood up, dropping a kiss on Scott’s forehead, then playfully ruffled Stiles’ hair and stroked Malia’s back from her face before she snagged the rest of Stiles’ ice cream and walked off.

“You guys are talking to me like I understand what you’re saying.” Malia muttered. “Back up. What’s Azeroth? Why do you have a guild?” 

“Azeroth is the in-game world that all of the in-game events take place on.” Scott told her. “There’s a guild because… well…” He furrowed his brows. “I never really understood exactly.” He looked at Stiles.

“It’s to get bonuses that you don’t have access to, without a guild.” Stiles explained. “Like having to wait less time for your hearthstone to regenerate. Uh, a hearthstone is what sends you back to your inn. It’s sort of like a teleporter, for your character.” 

Scott beamed. “Yeah, there you go.” He nodded. “So you want to play, then?” He asked in excitement.

Malia grinned at Scott as she nodded. “Yes, I want to play with you.” 

Stiles snorted and grabbed his can of soda, finishing it and rinsing it out in the sink. 

Scott grinned and bounced over to Malia, slipping his arms around her waist. “Awesome.” He murmured, ducking his head to kiss her.

Malia kissed back, happy that she had done something to please Scott. She was still, even after all this time, having trouble with humanity as a whole - but she knew she wanted to make him smile, the way Lydia talked about with Derek. 

Scott hugged her close, pressing his nose against her cheek and snuffling against her skin playfully, inhaling her scent and relaxing against her. “You’re gonna love it. And even if you don’t love it, some of it might make you laugh. They have werewolves in the game. They aren’t called werewolves, but they’re humans who can shift into giant hairy wolf-people whenever they get pissed off, so they’re werewolves.”

“Can I be a werewolf?” Malia giggled. “I have plenty of time to learn this game, since I’m not going to school now.” She had dropped out a week before, after failing two quizzes on the same day. 

Scott nipped her neck, growling softly. “Stiles, can she be a worgen?” He called, biting at her earlobe before pulling back enough to look over his shoulder at the other boy.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. She can play as many toons as she wants.” He stared at his friend for a moment. “You want me to leave, don’t you?” 

Scott blushed sheepishly, then looked down at Malia and dove face first into her neck again, growling before he nodded. “Yeah. Kinda. Please? I’m not - it’s just - um, you know.” He looked apologetic and hopeful and horny, and it was a bizarre combination of expressions to see on his face.

“Don’t ever look at me again when you’re... I’m just gonna go.” Stiles blurted, running outside. 

“Bye, Stiles!” Scott called after him cheerfully before turning his gaze on Malia. He gave the girl a slow, sharp-toothed smile and a low, rumbling growl. “Upstairs. Now.”

“Not in my house when I am still here, Scott Anthony McCall!” Melissa called from the other room sharply.

Scott paled and chuckled nervously. “Uh. Your apartment?”

Malia nodded. “Go get your laptop, though. We can play that game afterward.” She walked outside and put her helmet on, smiling to herself. 

Scott grinned after her and ran to his room, practically diving down the stairs moments later with the keys to his bike and his own helmet, his backpack with his laptop inside it strapped to his back. He jumped onto the bike, grabbing Malia by the hem of her t-shirt and dragging her close for a slow kiss. “Hop on.”

Malia got on the back of the bike and put her arms around Scott’s waist. She put her chin on his shoulder. “You should just move in with me after you graduate.” 

Scott backed the bike down the driveway, heading for Derek’s building. At the stop light, he put one hand on top of Malia’s and squeezed. “You’d really want me to?” He asked curiously. “I mean, I’m not even leaving town for college. And that way I can still bring Mom her lunch at work.” He smiled. “I’d like that.”

Malia grinned and kissed Scott’s shoulder. “I want you to be close by, so that I don’t have to come find you when I want things.” She explained. “It’s frustrating when I don’t know where you are.” 

Scott laughed softly. “That’s kind of why we have cell phones, but I get what you mean. Sometimes it’s not enough.” He was silent until they arrived at the apartment, and all but hauled Malia over the bike once he’d parked. He kissed her again, his hands sliding up to wrap around her waist. “I want to be near you, like… all the time.”

“I can’t figure those out, either. Cell phones.” Malia admitted, sighing. “But I want you here all the time, too. There’s a lot I don’t understand, though. I’m supposed to be using a website to get business for matchmaking people, and Lydia and Stiles said they would help me, but I’m really lost. And now he’s having a baby and she can’t talk.” 

Scott hugged her. “That doesn’t mean they won’t be there to help you. And I can, too. I don’t know what I can do, and I’m not really, you know… um, great with website stuff, but I totally want to help you do this.”

Malia smiled. “Okay, let’s go have sex and then we’ll figure out your game and stuff.” She nodded, taking his hand and walking into the building. 

Scott laughed, wrapping his hand around her and dropping a kiss on her shoulder. “I’m really excited about this, actually.” He looked at her. “I mean, for the website, and the game, and the sex. All of it.”

Cora opened her apartment door and leaned out. “Hey, Scott? We can hear you talking about banging our cousin. Shut up.” 

“Don’t wanna!” Scott called back, and hurried Malia into her apartment. “Maybe you should think about soundproofing the building?” He called out, laughing before he shut the door.

***

“Okay.” Malia stared at her laptop, looking at the options on the screen. “So I want to be a worg- a worj - a werewolf? Or I should make a human, right? Stiles said you needed my help.” She looked up at Scott. “What did you name yours?” 

“You can make a human, yeah.” Scott smiled at her. “I named him Brannan. You can hit a button in the next screen, and it’ll generate a random name for your character, whoever they are. We can make a worgen later, they have different starting points than the humans do and I wanna try and get you leveled up far enough that we’re in the same spot.” He scratched at his bare chest, staring between his laptop and Malia’s, and then stretched out next to her, propping his laptop on his stomach.

Malia followed Scott’s instructions, making a human character and generating a name for her. She made a face, cycling through names before she settled on one. “All of these names are awful. I don’t want to live in Azeroth, if you have to have a crappy name to be there. Lorlette still sounds weird, but I guess it’s better than nothing.” 

“Well, you can choose your own names, too, I think. I’m pretty sure Stiles has about a million of them in different variations of his own name,” Scott laughed. “I’m just not creative enough to come up with anything other than my name the way it is.”

“But you came up with Brannan?” Malia murmured. “Or was that random?” 

“That was random. There’s online generators, too.” Scott smiled at her. “It sounded like a cool name.” He ran his hand over her back repetitively as he looked over his screen, idly clicking over random buttons and checking his interface.

“Okay.” Malia looked back at her screen, listening to some old man talking about history as a town was shown. She tuned it out, sighing. “If I had known that there would be a history lesson, I wouldn’t have agreed to this.” 

“It isn’t for long, babe.” Scott told her. He grinned cheekily. “I could distract you until they shut up.”

Malia grinned back and leaned toward Scott, kissing him. She looked back at the computer when the talking stopped, clicking on the man in front of her that had an exclamation mark over his head. “I have to kill things? I love this game.” 

Scott snorted out a laugh and put his laptop to the side, rolling over until his head was nestled on her thigh. “Told you you’d like it.” He murmured.

Malia looked down at Scott, a bemused smile on her face. “Play this with me.”

“‘Kay.” Scott replied, then pressed a kiss to her stomach, nipping playfully before he sat up and dragged his laptop back to him. He logged on to one of his lower level players and watched as he appeared on the screen next to Malia’s toon, grinning at her. “Let’s kill stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left!
> 
> Leave us feedback <3


	25. More Than This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You two frighten me.” Lydia remarked, her expression blank as she waited for them to catch on to the fact that she had spoken. 
> 
> “Please, living in terror is a fact of life for us now.” Allison replied before blinking at Lydia. Without her gaze leaving the other girl, she poked Stiles’ belly. “Did she just…”
> 
> Stiles nodded, lowering Allison toward the floor. “She did.” He stared at Lydia. “How long have you been able to talk?” 
> 
> “About forty minutes now.” Lydia smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This title comes from the song _More Than This_ by 10,000 Maniacs. (It's originally by Roxy Music, but their version isn't as good.)

_March 9, 2013_

Stiles groaned when he heard the phone ringing. He lifted his head and pressed the phone to his ear. “Thanks for calling Santino’s Pizza, this is Stiles, how can I help you?” 

“I must have dialed the wrong number.” Malia hung up. 

Stiles was just starting to drift back to sleep when the phone rang again. “Hello?” He rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes. 

“Okay, it’s the same number.” Malia muttered. “Why did you say it was a pizza place a minute ago?” 

“I did?” Stiles yawned. “Sorry. What’s going on?” He sat up straight. “Oh god, you’re calling me. You don’t ever... who died? Who’s in trouble?” 

“Lorlette. She keeps dying and I’m sick of having to go find her corpse.” Malia whined. “Isn’t there some way I can make her stop being terrible?” 

“Malia, I’m going to hang up. You’re a valuable member of the pack, I appreciate that you called me for help, but it’s two o’clock in the morning and I have to be up at six.” Stiles protested. “Okay?” He hung up without waiting for an answer from her, then got up from the bed and trudged down to the kitchen for a glass of water. 

John yawned and leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his head and blinking when Stiles appeared. “Why’re you up, kiddo?” He asked quietly.

“Malia called me for help with something on World of Warcraft.” Stiles laughed, exhausted. “I’ve tried to explain to her, and everyone else, that I’m working what amounts to three part time jobs right now. The pizza place, delivering groceries, and mowing lawns. I feel like I’ve barely made any money. Most of it goes toward gas for the Jeep. I need a real car before September, and I don’t even know why I just said that.” 

John blinked again, looking vaguely stunned. “I’m not quite sure why you did either. I’m a little shocked, to be honest.” He put a hand on Stiles’ back, patting gently. “I know you’re doing your best. And I know you haven’t asked me for help, but you know I’m willing to give it to you, Stiles. This baby isn’t just going to be your child, it’s going to be _my_ grandchild. Your mother would have your hide if you didn’t let me help, and _my_ hide if I didn’t offer.”

“Yeah, and if I give up the Jeep, it’s like... I mean, it was hers.” Stiles frowned. “But I don’t think it’s good enough for a baby to ride around in. There’s not enough heat, the gas mileage is crap. And she would probably agree with me and try to convince me to steal Jackson’s Porsche.” He laughed, getting himself another glass of water and sitting down at the table. “Tell me one of the crazy things she used to do.” He drank the water and put his head down, looking over at his dad. 

John smiled faintly, putting his hand in Stiles’ hair. “Crazy things she used to do, huh?” He asked, chuckling. “You wanna hear how we met, or how she proposed?”

“She asked you?” Stiles grinned. “Tell me both.” 

John laughed and smiled faintly, leaning back in his chair, though he didn’t stop petting Stiles’ head, needing to be close to his son as they discussed the missing woman in their lives. “She’d just turned eighteen the spring before she got admitted to college, and I was… twenty-three? About to turn twenty-four. I’d done two tours of duty for the Army by that point and was long home by the time the Gulf War started up. I’d enrolled at the academy when I was twenty, and by twenty-three, I was fresh out and on my first real patrol. Your mom was a freshman, and big into the political protest scene, raising hell about how the States’ presence in the Gulf was wrong and my assignment the day I met her was to break up the protest that was taking over downtown.” He looked up at Stiles and smirked. “She was the organizer. So I make my way into the middle of the protest, trying to find the crazy person in charge, and your mom throws herself into my way and won’t let me go any further. I asked her if she knew who was running the protest, and she drew herself up, all five-feet-two-inches of her, looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘I am. Pig.’” He ducked his head, laughing. “I told her that I was sorry, but that she didn’t have permission to be heading her protest in the public square like that, and that I was going to have to break it up, and she said, ‘Like hell you are! Over my dead body!’ And then she punched me in the jaw and kicked me in the shin.”

Stiles laughed. “And broke your nose, right?” He had heard the story before, but it had been a few years. 

John snorted, touching the bridge of his nose lightly. “You bet your ass she did.” He said fondly. “Never met a woman that could punch like that before. Her dad had taught her how, see, before she came out to California. He was worried that she’d get herself into a ‘situation’ with some little nobody who wouldn’t know how to take no for an answer, so he made damn sure that she’d be able to protect herself.” He grinned. “When my partner stopped pissing himself laughing, he helped me up and I had to cuff her and take her down to the station for assaulting me. Protocol, you know? But it was me, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to press charges on her. I was more than half in love with her by that point. I sat her down in holding until her roommate could come and get her, and we spent half the night just talking. About anything - everything. She was so damn smart, and so opinionated, and I’d never met anyone like her in my life.” John’s smile turned wistful, and he looked up at the ceiling. “I called my dad the next night and told him I’d just met the woman of my dreams. He laughed at me and said that I’d sure as hell had better make her my reality or he’d disown me.”

“I bet Grandpa just loved that you didn’t propose to her, too.” Stiles smiled and sat up. 

“He thought it was hilarious, and par for the course.” John nodded, eyes twinkling the way they always did when he spoke about his late wife. “You remember seeing the pictures we had of me and Ziggy, right?” Ziggy had been John’s German Shepherd, the six-year-old dog he’d adopted from the K-9 unit once the dog had been injured and forcibly retired.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, I have vague memories of him stealing my teddy bear at some point.” He snorted. 

“If you hadn’t antagonized him by waving that damn teddy bear in his face every time he got close to you, he wouldn’t have taken it.” John laughed. “Anyway, your mom loved Ziggy, spoiled him to death, and at one point, I started to wonder if she was coming over to my place to visit me, or if she was using me for the dog. He acted like he was still a damn puppy every time he saw her, and he was a goddamn eighty-eight pound dog, too big to be acting like a lap dog, but there he was, crawling up on the couch and dropping himself in her lap every time she came over. What I didn’t know was that she’d been training him to do it.” He snorted. “Of course, the damn dog fucked it up. ‘Nae had been trying to get him to crawl into _my_ lap, even though I shoved him off every time he tried, because she’d been working on tying a proposal on a piece of paper to his collar. She tried about three or four times before she finally gave up because by the time he’d finally get on my lap, the paper would be under his chin, and he’d have eaten it. She snapped after about four weeks of this and yelled at the dog. ‘Dammit, Ziggy, do this right and quit _eating_ the paper I’m trying to propose to my idiot boyfriend on!’”

Stiles laughed, then gave up on sleep and got up to make coffee. “I’ve had it in my head for awhile that if Ally and I are having a girl, we should just name her Chloe. But I don’t know if we should, since that seems like it’s just, well, tempting Fate. Literally. Uh, but...” He yawned, falling silent. 

John’s face softened, and he shook his head. “Don’t name her Chloe, son. Because every day after she’s born, if it’s a girl, you’re going to be expecting her to be the other Chloe. You’ll be expecting _her_ smile, _her_ laugh, _her_ questions, and it’ll hurt all of you in the end when those particular things aren’t there, or when they’re different.” He looked down, closing his eyes. “I know she was only with us for a little while, but I started to love that little girl. And she wasn’t real, and it hurt like hell to know that she wasn’t really ours. She wasn’t your daughter, or my granddaughter.” He looked up at the ceiling, toward Stiles’ bedroom, where he presumed Allison was curled up, sound asleep. “That baby that Allison is carrying - that’s the real deal. That is going to be your son or daughter. Give them a name that’s important to you, but don’t name them after someone who wasn’t real.”

Stiles nodded, rubbing his eyes again. "Yeah." He sighed. "I miss her, though. I was pissed at first, but I get now why she lied."

"I miss her, too, kid." John sighed as well. "The good news is that she came clean before we all got in too deep. I was getting ready to buy her a damn swing set for the backyard." He grimaced.

“Well, don’t give up on that idea just yet.” Stiles laughed. “We should find one that has the interchangeable swings, so that we can attach a baby one at first.” 

John grinned at him. "Sounds like a good idea, son. I'll look into it. We can set it up in the backyard here. It'll be nice to have kid stuff here again." He hesitated and said, "You know, you never were meant to be an only child. We'd always wanted to give you a younger brother or sister, but we'd wanted to stagger it along until you were well into school and comfortable." He swallowed thickly. "And then she got sick, and... She was so weak, and she didn't want to do that to us, give us a baby and then leave us without her, but... I would have loved another child from her. A little girl, maybe. One with her laugh, your eyes, my smile. I don't..." He stopped, stood up, sniffled, and walked to Stiles' side, wrapping his son into a tight, almost desperate hug. "I'm so grateful I have you, Stiles. I know I haven't been good about showing it in the past, sometimes, but you're everything to me, and you need to know that. You're the best thing that your mother ever gave me, and I love you more than anything. You need to know that. You should always know that." He pressed a firm kiss to the top of Stiles' head.

“Dad.” Stiles sighed. “You don’t... it’s okay.” He shrugged. “I’ve accepted that I’m not exactly the kid you hoped for. It’s fine.” 

John looked wounded, shaking his head. "Stiles, no. You're not the kid I hoped for." He sat down to face his son properly. "You're better. You're so much better, and every day that I look at you and see who you are and who you're becoming, I remember that you're _my son_. That I had a hand in making you into this amazing kid that talks at the speed of light and does his homework and researches the newest supernatural problem at the same time like it's just another day at the damn office, and that drives me nuts by making me eat goddamn tofu and turkey and salads because you actually want me around in another forty, fifty or sixty years." He pressed a hand gently to the back of Stiles' neck, anchoring himself to his son. "Everything you do -" he huffed out a laugh. "I talk to your mother about it. I tell her what crazy thing you pulled, or the dumbass jokes you made that had me possibly in desperate need of a respirator from laughing so hard. I tell her about your latest ideas, about your plans for school, about Allison and how you're planning a family together. And you know what - I'm proud of you. I'm proud as hell. You're your mother fifty times over, and maybe you got your interest in crime solving from me, but your smarts sure as hell come from her, and you can be damn certain that as much as I loved her, still love her, I love you just as much, if not more than. Do you understand me?"

Stiles was silent for a long moment, partly because he was exhausted, but mostly because he wasn’t sure what to say. He had come to the conclusion a long time ago that nobody ever really, truly knew a person; they only knew what the person was willing to let them know. Melissa and Allison could lecture him for hours about what his dad thought or felt, but they didn’t live in the Stilinski house, and they weren’t around when it was just him and his dad. Stiles never had it as bad as Isaac, but he wasn’t going to say that everything had been perfect all the time, either. “I guess.” He murmured finally. “I should probably get back to bed. I have a long day of mowing lawns and delivering pizzas.” 

John’s face fell and he nodded, sighing. Things weren’t ever going to be perfect between himself and Stiles - and he knew he was mostly to blame for that. He’d do the best that he could in the meantime to make up for it, though. He tentatively reached out his hand to touch the back of Stiles’. “Get whatever rest you can. And… And I’ll be there. If you need me.” He exhaled softly. “I promise.” The words shouldn’t have made him want to cry. He had a lifetime of guilt for stupid things he’d said to Stiles, and stupid things he’d done in the past where Stiles was concerned, and no amount of ‘I love yous’ and hugs and ‘kiddos’ were ever going to make up for it. He swallowed and looked down. “Go on. Get some sleep. I can wake you up later, if you want me to.”

Stiles thought about reminding his dad that he had more than one alarm, in addition to Allison, in his room. He decided not to bother. “Okay.” He glanced at his dad. “See you in a few hours, then.” 

John didn’t look up, but nodded again. “Good night, son.” He replied softly. He hated that their earlier camaraderie during his stories about his wife suddenly felt so completely out of reach. “Sleep well.”

Stiles nodded at his dad and went upstairs to his room, curling up against Allison and kissing her shoulder. He felt bad that he hadn’t been awake enough to do the usual thing where he pretended everything was fine. He knew his dad loved him, he just didn’t think he really ranked as high as his dad insisted he did. It wasn’t that big of a deal, except that it sort of was. 

Allison sighed and nuzzled against him, turning around until she was facing him and snug in his arms. She blinked her eyes open slowly and stared up at him in concern. “Where’d you go? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Malia called to ask for help with World of Warcraft.” Stiles snorted. “I kinda hung up on her, but then I went to get a drink of water and my dad’s up, so I was talking to him for a little bit.” 

Allison smiled softly at him. “Oh, that’s good. You’ll have to - to -” her voice faltered as she yawned. “To tell me about what you talked about tomorrow.” She laid her head down against Stiles’ chest for a moment, then shot up, blinking her eyes at him. “You hung up on Malia? We’re going to need bubble wrap.” She teased. “I’m going to wrap you up so that she doesn’t try to hurt you.”

Stiles laughed. “We should’ve bubble-wrapped Scott’s front door, then.” He yawned, kissing Allison and closing his eyes. 

Allison buried her face in Stiles’ shoulder, snickering softly. “Okay, maybe not bubble-wrap.” She kissed him back, tucking herself against his side and sighing contentedly as she closed her own eyes.

“Dad told me not to name our kid Chloe.” Stiles murmured, opening his eyes just wide enough to see Allison, so that he could run a hand up and down her arm. 

Allison blinked up at him, then nodded slowly, silently, looking sad. “Yeah… I can see why, maybe.” She shivered a little at his touch, pressing against him. “I never really thought up names for kids I might have.” She admitted. “I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted them before you.”

Stiles smiled and kissed Allison. “Yeah, I’m not going to end up getting back to sleep tonight, I don’t think.” He murmured. 

Allison laughed softly. “Aww, my poor baby.” She crooned, rubbing her hand gently over his chest. “I could tire you out,” she offered.

“Yes, let’s do that.” Stiles grinned, closing his eyes as he rolled onto his back, pushing his pants and underwear down to his knees. 

Allison snorted, hooking her thumbs into her underwear and tugging them down, not even bothering to take off the thin t-shirt she was wearing before she slipped over him. “You’re so easy.” She teased, bending down to kiss him. Reaching down, she wrapped her hand around his prick and squeezed before she started to stroke him, jerking him off slowly.

Stiles bit his lip as he thrust up into her hand. “You like me this way.” He murmured. 

“ _Love_ you this way,” she corrected, smiling down at him, clenching her fist around him and dragging her palm down before tugging it back up. She looked over her shoulder to watch what she was doing and shivered. There weren’t enough words to describe how much she loved doing this to him.

Stiles lowered his voice to a whisper, even though he had gotten into the habit of locking the door at all times years ago, and his dad knew better than to invade his privacy. “I love you, too. Do you want to ride me?” 

Allison exhaled sharply and slid back a little until his erection was in front of her instead of behind her. “Yeah. But give me a minute.” Her eyes sparkled. “I wanna play.” She wrapped both hands around him, then bent low and slid her tongue over the head of his dick.

Stiles groaned, even as he smiled. “Okay.” He looked up at her. “No arguments here.” 

“Damn right, no arguments.” Allison hummed, and then she quit talking altogether as she lowered her mouth around him, suckling wetly, her fingers teasing at the base of his cock while her other hand slid up and down over the cut of his hip.

Stiles tangled his fingers in Allison’s hair, rubbing her scalp with his thumb as he moved with her, his lips parted as he exhaled slowly. “I wouldn’t mind waking up for this more often.” He teased. “And you know I don’t mind returning the favor.” 

Allison pushed her head into his hand, giggling quietly, her tongue darting out and teasing him as she sucked him down. She pulled off slowly, her lips suctioning enough to make a popping sound. “Any time you need some middle-of-the-night satisfaction, I’m your girl.” She winked. “And I definitely love the way you return the favor.”

Stiles sat up as he pulled Allison close for another kiss. He pressed his heels into the mattress and moved backward, so that his back was against his headboard. 

Allison slid into his lap easily, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. She lifted herself up a bit and peered down between them so that she could see what she was doing as she wrapped her hand around him and pressed the head of his dick inside of her with a soft whimper.

Stiles put a hand on the back of Allison’s neck and tugged her down to kiss her once more. “I love you.” 

Allison grunted and kissed him back hungrily. “I love _you_ ,” she murmured, pressing her hands against his chest and digging her nails lightly into his skin.

***

Stiles dragged his arm across his forehead, then went back to pulling weeds from the garden he was kneeling in front of. There were maybe three weeds, but he had already spent half of the morning moving boxes around in a garage. He was pretty sure he was just being used as eye candy for the neighborhood, but he kept thinking of how close he was to buying the crib he and Allison wanted for the baby. 

“Would you like some lemonade, dear?” Mrs. Collins called from the front porch, smiling out at Stiles with a tray in her hand. That horrible Martin girl had kept what amounted to a barbed wire fence around Stiles ever since mid-December, but she wasn’t there, and Mrs. Collins was determined to read the Stilinski boy his rights for daring to do - whatever it was, exactly, that he was doing to the poor Argent girl.

“Uh, sure.” Stiles nodded, getting to his feet. “Thank you.” He doubted that it would have sugar in it, but he didn’t care, at this point. 

Mrs. Collins smiled at him. “You’re welcome, my dear. And how is everything with you? How is that lovely little girl you’re seeing?”

Stiles forced a smile, knowing he was about to walk into a trap. “Well, she’s not exactly little, she’s going to be nineteen tomorrow. She’s a year older than me. But she’s good.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m so glad you’re here, Stiles, darling. It’s so good of you to take the time to help me out.” Mrs. Collins smiled sweetly at him. “I’m sure you had a lot of studying to do. I’m sorry if I’ve taken too much of your time up today.”

Stiles hesitated. He had a vague memory of his mom talking to Mrs. Collins when he was a kid. He still wasn’t clear on what had been said, but she had giggled the entire walk home. “Actually, you haven’t.” He said gently, feeling like he was missing something. Her words sounded nice, but there was an undercurrent of something rude in her tone.

“That’s so good to know, dear.” Mrs. Collins nodded sagely. “This is a good thing that you’re doing for yourself, you know. Physical labor is a good thing to learn for a young man your age. Not that silly animal wrangling that the McCall boy thinks is respectable.”

Even as Stiles opened his mouth to respond, he was wondering if the Fates were listening, if his mom was watching, if he was about to get grounded until he graduated high school. “That _silly animal wrangling_ is, in fact, respectable. Scott’s been taking care of animals since he could walk, and just about everyone in the county loves him for it. I don’t know what it is that made you think you could speak to me that way about my best friend, but I think it’s disrespectful on your part.” 

“Well, I never.” Mrs. Collins’ smile had disappeared, and her cold gray eyes were narrowed at Stiles. “Disrespectful is what this attitude is right now. What gives you the right to speak to _me_ that way? I am your elder. You would do well to treat me the way I deserve. Although God knows if you understand respect at all, given what you’ve done to the Argent girl. How dare you force her to live in sin? Her poor daddy must despair of you, and Lord knows what _your_ father thinks of raising such a hooligan.” She snapped.

Stiles stuck his hands in his back pockets and rocked backward on his heels, staring down at the old woman. His dad’s words from earlier that morning came back to him, and he decided without a doubt that he wasn’t simply just Renee’s son, he was also John’s, and he was going to act like it more often. “My girlfriend isn’t being forced to do anything she doesn’t want to do.” He smiled. “And I don’t care how old you are, really. I’ve seen things that would make your false teeth fall right out of your mouth, lady.” He smirked at her. “You’re right about her dad not liking me, but that’s between me and him. As for _my_ dad, I recommend not making any kind of judgment calls about what he does or doesn’t do with his time. Slander is illegal.” He glanced toward her garden, then looked back at her. “If you don’t have anything else for me, I think I’ll head home. But if you do need more help around the house, I’m willing to do that, so long as you don’t speak to me any more than necessary. I think you and I both know that if I don’t help you, nobody else will.” 

Mrs. Collins looked furious, her pale cheeks going a ruddy pink color, and she huffed. “Oh! You’re an evil child. Go. Don’t you step foot on my property ever again, and keep that besotted little Jezebel of yours away, too! I should log a complaint with the city about you,” she finished, muttering as she turned to hobble her way back to her house.

“Do rotary phones even work anymore?” Stiles called out to her, but he turned around and walked away, not really caring what she said after that. He was in his Jeep before he started laughing, putting his head down on the steering wheel as he called his dad. 

“Hey, Stiles - Stiles?” John blinked as he answered the phone to his son’s laughter. “What’s going on, son?”

“Listen, you’re probably going to have to deal with someone else in this town filing a restraining order against me.” Stiles snorted. “Mrs. Collins ran her mouth about Scott wanting to be a vet, and I told her off. She decided it was open season after that, and when I tried to set her straight, she told me to get off her property.” 

John tried not to sound amused. “What did the old bat say to you?”

“The usual stuff from someone that thinks she’s Miss Havisham.” Stiles mused. “I’m disrespectful, I’m forcing Ally to live in sin, you and Chris hate me, and I’m evil. I don’t even wanna know what she’d do if she found I was - uh, nevermind.” 

There was a noise that sounded eerily similar to a growl from the other end of the line. “That damn - listen, I unfortunately know things about that woman that might make most people's’ hair stand on end because when she thinks she’s being righteous, she flaps her gums. That hag once told Deputy Henry that she should have been back at her mistress’s house, cleaning and scrubbing and being a good, obedient little…” John trailed off, sounding disgusted and refusing outright to say the slur. “Well. Let’s just say that she’s from an era that should’ve been left dead and buried several times over.” He paused for a moment, then snorted. “She’d probably scream and faint if she knew what really happens in this town.”

“I told her.” Stiles agreed. “I mean, I told her that her dentures would fall out.” He laughed. “Hey, did Mom ever get into an argument with her? I swear I remember something like that, but barely. I was little.” 

“Jesus, did she ever.” John sighed. “Your mother _hated_ that woman. She saw you running around, or running down the street, or something, you must've been about three, and she told your mom to put you on a leash so that you wouldn’t trample her precious damn flowers and so that your mom would keep you under control. Renee lost it and tore into her, and Collins called the department, trying to claim that your mom assaulted her.” He sounded as though he was caught midway between being furious and wanting to laugh. “She must have forgotten that I was a Deputy at the time, and that every single person I worked with knew you and your mom and practically adored you. I don’t think she’s tried to call the police on anyone in about fifteen years.”

“She’d better not try now. If Allison or Chris heard what she said about Allison...” Stiles sighed. “I swear I wasn’t trying to provoke her. I just don’t like anyone saying things about Scott.” 

“What in the hell even made her want to start in on Scott?” John asked in confusion. “I know you weren’t trying to provoke her, son. She’s a horrid old woman who gets her jollies out of life by harassing the people around her because her own damn life is miserable. You did nothing wrong, and if you gave her hell, it probably just reminded her exactly whose kid you are.” He smiled faintly. “And honestly, she _deserves_ to be reminded every once in a while.”

“Yeah.” Stiles murmured. “Well, she made some comment about me being busy with studying, and when I said I wasn’t busy, she told me I was doing a good thing, actually working instead of wasting time on animals. I don’t even know where it came from, it was like her head spun around when I wasn’t looking.” 

John grit his teeth together, another angry noise escaping him. “That back talking little... Sounds about right.” He muttered to himself, then sighed. “She’s a lonely, angry, miserable old woman just trying to get her kicks while she still can. She’s always known who you are, and she knows who your friends are, so of course she’d go for the jugular. Scott’s helped the old biddy out before with those five cats she keeps letting run rampant around the neighborhood. She probably just thought he’d be the easiest target to get you riled up.” He shook his head. “Everyone at the department knows not to take her complaints seriously. You have nothing to worry about, Stiles." 

“Everyone but me, I guess.” Stiles murmured. “Okay, I’m going home to try to sleep for a little while before I have to go to Santino’s.” 

“Alright, son.” John sighed. “I’ll see you later, then?” He couldn’t help the hope that came out with his voice as he spoke.

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled. “Uh, I’ll probably bring pizza home for dinner. Late, but still.” 

John huffed out a soft laugh. “I can handle that. Okay. Go make money. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah.” Stiles repeated. “Thanks for listening.” He hung up, feeling a little weird as he drove back home. 

Allison was waiting for him, sitting in the living room anxiously. She nearly lunged for the door the second she knew he was there, jittering in place and smiling.

Stiles smiled back at her. “Hey, are you okay?” He put his hands on her shoulders, then lifted one to push a strand of hair back from her face. 

Allison smiled at him and sighed, dropping her head to her chest. “I’m fine. I’m just glad you’re home. I’m kind of going out of my mind with boredom.” She trailed her fingers down Stiles’ arm. “We’ve pretty much hit a roadblock with Lydia’s voice. I can’t find anything in any of our books that will help us rush things along and give her back her voice.”

“I think she’d be pissed if she knew we were still looking, anyway.” Stiles sighed. “She’s convinced herself that she needs to just wait, and that if it never comes back, it just doesn’t. If anything like that ever happens to me, I’m telling you right now that I want you up around the clock, reading books in Sanskrit.” He laughed, then kissed her. “I missed you. I have good news and bad news.” 

“I missed you, too.” Allison replied, kissing him back softly. “And you know I would. I don’t care if she gets her voice back and never speaks to me again, I’m going to find a way to get her voice back. What’s your news?”

“I’m going to have more free time, at least until I find another filler job to earn whatever money I can scrape together.” Stiles made a face. “But I won’t be earning much more until that happens. I got yelled at by an evil old woman and she said plenty of things that made me lose all control of my mouth, and I said plenty of things right back to her.” He ran a hand over his face. “Are you mad?” 

Allison scowled. “Yeah, but not at you. Who was it? What did she do, and can I bring my crossbow the next time we go for a walk and happen to pass by?”

Stiles smiled. “Mrs. Collins. She was just being herself, I guess. And no, because I don’t want you to get yourself arrested. She already threatened to report me. For what, I don’t know. Mentioning the fact that she has dentures, probably.” 

Allison snorted out a laugh. “Does she never have anything better to do, other than just being herself? Ugh.” She shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

“How about if you go upstairs, take off all your clothes...” Stiles murmured, kissing Allison’s neck. “And you can put on one of my shirts, if you want. And I’ll bring lunch upstairs.” He smiled. “And you can eat while I go down on you.” 

Allison tilted her head back, eyes closing as she giggled, her arms wrapping loosely around Stiles' shoulders. "Lunch is going to get _really_ cold, then, she murmured. Tilting her head the other way, she kissed him back. "Sounds like a fantastic idea."

Stiles laughed. “Okay, go on.” He pulled away from her reluctantly, going into the kitchen to figure out what he could make for her that didn’t go against her dietary restrictions. He had been a little horrified by how much she wasn’t allowed to eat, and any envy he felt toward her for being able to have their baby was gone. 

Allison climbed back up the stairs, waiting until she'd gotten to their room before she stripped, taking Stiles' suggestion and slipping into one of his t-shirts. She curled back up on the bed and pulled her phone toward her, flipping through her apps until she settled on the newest one she’d downloaded - baby names and their meanings and backgrounds.

Stiles carried a bowl up the stairs. It wasn’t something he would have called lunch, more like a snack - but he figured she wouldn’t mind. It was just apple slices and some almonds. He needed to pick up more groceries soon. He set the bowl down on the bed and leaned down to kiss Allison. “Nice shirt.” He smiled. “You know that’s the one I wore on the plane, to come see you?” 

Allison beamed up at him, kissing him back. "I remember. I love this shirt." She squirmed and wriggled against the bed, all but preening. "Come here." She ordered, and tugged him down until he was settled between her legs, her chest pressed against his back and her chin hooked over his shoulder. She made grabby hands at the apples. 

Stiles picked up an apple slice and twisted around a little, holding the fruit up to Allison’s mouth. “I’ll probably tell them to call me if someone calls off at Santino’s. It’s pissing me off a little because I feel like I’m spending those paychecks on making sure there’s enough gas in the tank, to keep working there. I’ll do whatever I have to do, you know? I just want to take care of everything. I should have planned ahead. I should have gotten a job sooner.” 

"Stop that." Allison told him, cradling him against her and resting her head against his. "Let's be real, okay? We both were not expecting me to be pregnant this soon. We both thought we had plenty of time before it would actually happen, and we probably should have made plans a little earlier than we did, but it's sort of hard to when we have Fates and Furies and nemetons and darachs and rogue alphas and resurrected crazy dead assholes popping up all over the place and distracting us." She kissed his cheek. "You aren't by yourself in this, okay? I'm planning to get a job, too, and I am not ashamed of guilting my dad into helping. Whatever else he says, he wants our family to continue, and he'll want to help us take care of..." She frowned and looked at her phone. "Baby Madison?" She grimaced. 

Stiles shook his head. “Not Madison. Not Chloe. Not Renee or Victoria, either. I loved my mom and I know you loved yours, but I can’t name our kid after yours, after what she did to Scott. And it would be unfair of me to name her after mine, when we can’t - or won’t - name her after yours. Besides that, I know how it kinda can suck to be named after a grandparent. I was named after both of my grandpas. And I love you, but I’m still not telling you my first name. I’ve been thinking about this, and I wanna suggest Erica, but I know you probably want to veto it, since she was interested in killing Lydia and didn’t seem to have a problem with going through you to get to her. But she wasn’t always bad, and if we can forgive Derek, we can forgive Erica. I mean, we can forgive ourselves, so...” 

Allison didn't say anything for a long while, her fingers idly twisting in Stiles' shirt. She frowned deeply. She was mostly agreed with Stiles, at least in regards to his mother and hers, and she still felt awful about what had happened to Erica and her part in it, but she didn't want to name their child after the girl. She didn't think it would be anymore fair to name their infant after Erica than it would to name her after Chloe. Still, there was the expression on Stiles' face, and she sighed softly. "I'll think about it. I promise I'll at least think about it."

"It's not a definite thing from me." Stiles blurted. "Just the first girl name I thought of, for people we know."

"The only people I'd consider really naming the baby after would be our parents." Allison admitted. "Or Lydia, and I'm not sure how that would go over with her." She smiled a little. "Our baby girl would have very large shoes to fill if we did that."

Stiles smiled and nodded. "We'll find a name." He turned to face her, then moved back to stretch out across the bed on his stomach. 

Allison smiled and scooted close, draping an arm over the small of his back and stroking lazily. She turned to her side and propped herself up on one hand. “I’m excited for this.” She murmured. “I can’t wait to come up with names.”

“I’m excited about it, too.” Stiles glanced up at Allison. “Um, we didn’t really talk about this yet, but will she or he be a Stilinski? Or an Argent?” 

Allison looked down, furrowing her brow. “Does it make a difference? I’m happy with either.”

“It does matter.” Stiles smiled. “Because we’re both proud of our families.” 

Allison grinned. “Well, that’s easily solvable.” She told him. “We’ll hyphenate. Something something Stilinski-Argent. Or Argent-Stilinski. We can go alphabetically.” She giggled.

“Maybe.” Stiles murmured. He rested his weight on his right elbow, rubbing her thigh with his left hand. 

“You don’t want to?” Allison asked him, setting her hand on his shoulder and shifting closer. Her head tilted.

“I’ve just been thinking of things.” Stiles kissed Allison’s knee, hoping to distract her from the conversation they were having. 

Allison wriggled, her legs falling apart. “What kind of things?” She asked, running her fingers through his hair.

Stiles shook his head, moving his hands to either side of Allison’s hips as he lowered his head to kiss her thigh. 

Allison’s head fell back as she attempted to watch him, her gaze nearly making her cross-eyed. She whined softly as her hips twitched upward minutely, and she tossed one leg over Stiles’ shoulder. She shrugged internally. If Stiles didn’t want to talk right then, then she wouldn’t make him talk. “Mm.” She sighed, and smiled, tapping his nose. “Little higher, honey.” She teased.

Stiles laughed. “Lay back.” He moved forward a little, his tongue darting out to taste her. 

Sighing softly, Allison leaned back and squirmed until she was flat on her back. Her head rested gently against the pillow, and she let out a soft moan.

Stiles didn’t want to hurt Allison’s feelings, but the idea of hyphenating their son’s or daughter’s last name made him feel weird. He was an equal opportunity kind of guy, full-stop. Or so he had thought, anyway. But he had just realized that he wanted Allison and the baby to be Stilinskis, like him. He wasn’t sure how to tell her without it sounding condescending, and he knew it was up to her, anyway. He pushed it aside, focusing on making her come. 

Allison arched and let out another low moan, her hand going to Stiles’ head. “Please,” she whined.

Stiles glanced up at her. “I love you.” He closed his lips over her clit and pushed two fingers inside her. 

Her body jerked, and Allison blurted out a sharp, “Ah!” as she came, nearly locked in position until her body finally relaxed and she sank back into the bed. “Love you, too.” She slurred, reaching for him and squeezing his hand.

Stiles laid down beside Allison and kissed her shoulder. “I barely did anything.” He protested, laughing. “But I’m tired. I’m gonna wake up and take a shower before work tonight.” 

Allison buried her face in his neck. “I can go down on you later,” she offered, smiling softly at him. “And we’re still talking when we wake back up, mister.” She wound her arm around his waist, nuzzling against him and closing her eyes.

“Yes, ma’am.” Stiles laughed lightly, pulling the blanket over himself and Allison. 

***

_March 10, 2013_

Stiles had spent his shift delivering pizzas and cleaning up the dining area after the restaurant closed for the night, so it was after midnight before he got home. He knew it probably violated a rule or two, but he had given money to Lydia, along with a picture, and sent her off to the store for him while he was busy. He could have waited another day, but he didn’t want to. He went into the house, yawning and setting pizza down on the kitchen table. “Morning, Dad.” 

John smiled at him. “Morning, son. How was your night?” He asked, standing up and moving to the refrigerator to pull out a bottle of water. He handed the bottle to Stiles before sitting back down.

“Thanks.” Stiles sat down, sliding the bottle from one hand to another, across the table in front of himself. “It went better than yesterday morning. I had to get Lydia to do me a favor, though. I could’ve asked someone else, but I figured it would insult her if I didn’t get her to help me.” 

“What did you ask her to do?” John tilted his head curiously. Part of the curiosity was out of a want to stay involved in what was happening in Stiles’ life, and the other part was out of a genuine interest. He wanted to understand what his son was thinking and feeling, and he didn’t want to come off as aloof, or unresponsive, or uninterested, or any possible reaction he’d given his son in the past that had added to any apathy that Stiles felt about their relationship. 

Stiles got a ring box out of his pocket, but didn’t open it. He set it on the table, beside his bottle of water. “That.” 

John nearly dropped his own bottle of water, staring dumbfounded at the box. “Jesus.” He breathed, and set the bottle off to the side before cupping his hands around his mouth. “Jesus, Stiles.”

Stiles shoved the box back into his pocket. “We were talking about names and I’m probably pushing it, and setting us back a little bit, but I felt like... this is the right thing to do.” 

John’s eyes were closed, and he took a deep breath, nodding. “Believe me, I understand that. When are you thinking of…” He trailed off, looking around like he thought that Allison was going to pop out of nowhere. “Popping the question?”

“Um, today?” Stiles cleared his throat, hating how he sounded uncertain. “Today.” He nodded. “It’s her birthday.” 

John rubbed his eyes and nodded. He stood up. “Give me a second, okay? I’ll be right back.” He smiled at Stiles, squeezing his shoulder as he passed. He was back after a few minutes, his hand clenched in a fist that he rested on the table. He took a deep breath. “You probably already know where I’m - what I’m about to give you. And I don’t want you arguing with me, okay? Please? It only feels right to give it to you. You’ve got the engagement ring, you just… you need the other part.” He swallowed. “Your - she’d approve, I think. Wouldn’t she?” He held his hand out and opened it, palm up, the glint of a pretty gold, diamond-studded ring band sitting in the center. His question was tentative and uncertain.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah.” He reached out slowly, taking the ring from his dad and tucking it into his pocket. “I think Mom would really love Allison.” 

John nodded, sniffing. “I think she would, too.” His hands fidgeted, like he didn’t know what to do with himself now that he’d given Stiles his mother’s ring. His eyes kept drifting back to his own hand, staring at his ring finger bleakly and wondering if he should just make it a clean break, just give Stiles the set so that the rings were whole and paired with people who loved each other once more.

“Dad.” Stiles shook his head. “When you’re ready, and only then. Okay?” 

John shut his eyes and nodded slowly. “Okay.” He said softly. “But it _is_ part of a matching set.” He smiled weakly. “It probably wouldn’t be appropriate for her father-in-law to hold the other ring.” 

Stiles laughed. “No, I agree with that much. I just think it’s better if you don’t push yourself for this. Mom would probably yank the ring off of your finger and throw it at me, but she’s not here, she doesn’t get a vote.” 

Snorting, John nodded. “She’d probably beg to differ.” He stared at Stiles for a second, then grinned at the ceiling. “She’d be manic right about now. So damn excited, and fighting the urge to smother you in hugs and telling you how you should propose.”

“Yeah, and then she’d probably be disappointed in me for doing what I want to do, anyway.” Stiles mused. “I’m gonna go wake her up and talk to her now. There’s going to probably be yelling of some kind, and it might not be favorable? I guess we’ll find out.” 

“Yelling? Why?” John frowned. 

“Well, I’m going to explain that if I have to explain it.” Stiles murmured, feeling a little awkward. He stood up. “I’ll see you soon, either way.” He grabbed the bottle of water and went upstairs to his bedroom, opening the door carefully and peering in at Allison. 

Allison let out a low, whiny noise and turned over, burying her face flat in the pillow she was sleeping on, her limbs star-fished across the bed.

Stiles grinned as he closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of the bed. “Hey, baby. I’m home.” He leaned down to kiss her. 

“Stiles?” Allison breathed, blinking sleepily and turning her head to the side so that she could look up at her boyfriend. She smiled softly. “Hi, baby.” She reached up with sleep-heavy arms.

Stiles laid down on Allison, careful not to put too much weight on her. “Hey, I have a surprise for you. Happy birthday, by the way.” 

A wide smile appeared on her face. “Oh, god. I forgot today was my birthday,” she giggled quietly and wrapped her legs around him, kissing his cheek. “Thank you. What surprise?”

“You have to sit up for it.” Stiles grinned. 

Allison reached for him, wiggling her fingers. “Help me up.” She grinned back.

Stiles got up on his knees on the bed, grabbing Allison’s hands and pulling her into a sitting position as he backed up and got down on one knee on the floor. 

Allison stared at him, her eyes widening. “Oh my god.”

Stiles got the box out of his pocket, nearly dropping it because his hands were shaking a little. He caught the box at the last second and opened it, holding it up to her. “Will you marry me?” 

“Stiles…” Allison breath, scooting forward quickly. She dropped to the ground, on her knees next to him, and wrapped her arms around him. She nodded. “Yeah - yes. Yes, I will. I absolutely, totally will.”

Stiles nodded, feeling choked up. “Okay.” He said finally, putting the ring on her finger. “I just set us back a little bit, but I figured if you didn’t want to or got mad, I’d just work harder to make up for it, or I’d try to return the ring or something. I’m really glad you said yes.” 

Allison buried her face in his neck, clinging tightly to him. “I’d have said yes anyway.” She told him. “I don’t mind if we wait until after I have the baby, though. We’re going to need to spend money on things he or she needs, and I’m okay with putting myself last when it comes to our kid.” She kissed him lightly. “I’m going to marry you no matter what.”

Stiles grinned. “Okay.” He repeated, then laughed. “My dad, um, gave me my mom’s wedding band. For you. And he wants to give me his, so that you and I can have matching ones. But he’s not ready for that yet. I told him to take his time.” 

Allison let out a soft laugh, looking awed. “Wow.” She said quietly, staring at him. “I don’t know what to say to that. I’m - that’s so - just, wow.” She hugged him tightly. “I’ll thank him next time I see him. That can’t have been easy for him to do.”

“It’s not.” Stiles agreed. “I swear, the two of them were like... I mean, they fought sometimes, but it was a weird kind of fighting? Like, one time my dad came home about an hour late and my mom sprayed him with the hose.” He laughed. “Sometimes I wonder if that was the start of... but anyway, she loved him. I mean, even with everything else, that never changed.” 

Allison giggled softly. “So that’s kind of hilarious and sweet.” She said. “And I can guess what I have to look forward to when I’m married to you.” She teased, climbing into his lap. “Do you like your hose water cold, or extra cold?” She kissed his cheek, laughing. “I want what your parents had, Stiles.” Nodding, she sighed. “Fighting or not, it sounds like they were completely mad about each other, and I’m already mad about you. Marriage is just going to be another step forward for us.”

Stiles kissed Allison, looking down at her hand. “Lydia already knows that I was going to ask you, too. I didn’t have time to get to the store, so I sent her with money and the picture of the ring I wanted for you.” He laughed. “She was excited, by the way.” 

Squirming, Allison grinned in delight. “I need to talk to her about this. I need to ask her to be my maid of honor. And the baby’s godmother. And everything else that I need to do,” she laughed. She lifted her hand, placing it against Stiles’ chest and clenching her fingers in his shirt as she stared at the ring, her cheeks aching. She leaned in to kiss him again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Stiles laughed and kissed Allison again. “We need to decide on... can I ask Scott to be the godfather for the baby? I swear I won’t make any jokes.” 

Allison laughed quietly and nodded. “Yes, of course you can.” She agreed, leaning against him.

“Awesome.” Stiles grinned. “Thank you. Then any other kids we have, we’ll just take turns making the rest of the pack godparents, too.” He shrugged. “It sounds reasonable to me, anyway. And I don’t want Derek to feel left out. Actually, maybe I should think about this a little more.” 

Allison’s forehead creased a little. “Think about not letting Derek feel left out? What do you mean exactly?” She asked curiously.

“Oh, no. I meant that I might ask him, instead of Scott. I mean, I think Scott would get it. He knows he’s basically my brother anyway, and when I told him you’re pregnant, he was yelling all sorts of stuff about how he’s going to be an uncle.” Stiles laughed. “Derek doesn’t have that. He’s got his sister and his cousin now, but I remember all the crap he had to go through, even when the fire happened.” 

Allison tilted her head to the side, then nodded. “That does make sense. And Lydia would probably be more than comfortable with Derek at her side up by the altar - or wait, do you just mean having Derek be godfather?” She blinked at him. “Because I can ask…. I don’t know, Malia. I guess, if she wants to be a bridesmaid, too, and then they can pair up.”

“If you ask Malia, you have to ask Cora.” Stiles mumbled, yawning. “I think we’ll be fine with just Lydia and Scott in the wedding. We don’t have to make it a big deal, unless that’s something you want. But I’ll think more about it.” He stood up and took off his jeans, then his shirt, and laid down in bed. 

“Okay.” Allison murmured. She stood up as well, climbing back into the bed. Her bare legs twisted around Stiles’ legs, her t-shirt clad arms wrapping around his middle. She pressed a kiss to his chest. “Would you have thought we’d be here a year ago?” She asked quietly.

Stiles shook his head. “A year ago, Scott was still hoping you’d come back to him and I was resigning myself to dying a virgin. Do we... I mean, can we talk about that, at some point? That we died? Because everyone else is ignoring it. And I know that’s my usual thing to do, but I don’t want to ignore stuff anymore. I have to learn to deal. I’m trying.” 

Allison swallowed, but nodded. “No, we should… We should talk about it. We were dead. That’s… That’s a really big thing.” She let out a shaky breath. “We were - What did we do wrong? How could it go so badly for us that the Fates would interfere on our behalf?”

“Well, we all died.” Stiles murmured, putting his arms around Allison. “And I figure it probably only got worse from there? I mean, they brought us back to fix everything, so maybe the nogitsune took control of the town. Maybe after me, he went after my dad. I don’t want to know if that happened.” 

Allison swallowed thickly, hiding her face against his chest. “If it was the nogitsune, then it all stems from that ritual that Deaton had us do when Jennifer took our parents.”

“I know Scott trusts Deaton, but I don’t. He didn’t tell us what we were risking. He always withholds information. There has to be more to what’s going on in this town than what he’s willing to share. I don’t think he’d keep that information in the office. Probably his house.” Stiles made a face. “I don’t want to get arrested for breaking and entering.” 

Allison grimaced. “I don’t know if I even want to go to the man’s house at all. There’s something that’s always been off about him, I thought. I just… I don’t want to put ourselves in danger if he’s actually against us, and has been this whole time.”

“I don’t want that, either. But I don’t want to sit around and wait for the next thing to come along.” Stiles sighed. “Maybe I’ll get the Furies on this, even if it means letting them back in. I mean, Deaton forced them out, anyway.” 

Allison shuddered. “Then again… They took you away from me, and then tried to make all of us hate each other, and if they step foot in this town again, I’m probably going to try a million and one ways to kill them, even though it won’t work.”

“For now, we’ll sleep.” Stiles smiled. “We’ll figure this out on another day, when it’s not your birthday.” 

“Okay.” Allison hummed and all but plastered herself to his body, her leg curving over his as she smiled at him.

***

_March 15, 2013_

Lydia had spent the past few weeks gathering letters from the colleges she had applied to, but she couldn’t make herself open any of them. She knew that no matter what colleges accepted her, they would have to be notified about her limitations and it might make them rescind their offer to her. In short, she was terrified. 

Derek came into the room, looking around curiously. He’d never been in Lydia’s bedroom before, and had sort of stunned Natalie with his appearance at the front door before she’d waved him up awkwardly - but not before asking him if she knew him from somewhere. He had cleared his throat and shifted before introducing himself properly, only for Natalie to say, _“No, I know that. I meant - you look like someone I met?”_ Derek had feigned ignorance and had all but run up the stairs. He spotted Lydia, and stepped up behind her, his arms winding around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her earlobe, and dropped another to her neck. “I could feel your nerves from across town, practically. Are you okay?”

Lydia nodded and gestured to the small stack of unopened envelopes on her dresser. She handed him a note she had already written. ‘I know I should open these, but this isn’t just another day or trying to decide on a nail polish color, this is an entirely new point in my life, and it starts as soon as those letters are open.’

Derek read the note over, then set it down, tilting his head as he looked at her. “You’re right. The minute you open these letters, you’re going to become an entirely new Lydia Martin.” He smiled gently at her, touching his hand to her face. “College-accepted, well on her way to taking over the world Lydia Martin.”

Lydia smiled and kissed Derek, then reached for the top envelope in the stack and picked up her letter opener, slicing through the sealed part of the paper. She set the blade down, handing the envelope to Derek once she got the papers out. 

Derek sat down, taking the envelope and setting it off to the side. He tugged Lydia into his lap, settling a hand on either of her hips and propping his chin on her shoulder.

Lydia studied the letterhead from MIT, then unfolded the letter, her eyes scanning over the words. She smiled, turning to kiss Derek and hand the letter to him. ‘I got accepted.’ She signed. ‘Okay, four more.’ 

Derek laughed softly, kissing her back. “I didn’t have any doubt, sweetheart. They’d be stupid not to accept you.” He reached out, distracting her with another kiss as he reached out to pick up one of her envelopes. He pulled back and handed it to her without looking at it. “Show me your next acceptance letter.”

Lydia grinned and opened the second envelope. It was from Stanford. She read over it quickly, then crumpled it in her hand and tossed it on the floor, already reaching for the third envelope before she let herself have time to mourn the opportunity she was so certain she would have. 

Derek thought nothing of it, and simply kicked the ball of paper out of sight, his hands moving to Lydia’s thighs. “Whatever those letters say, wherever you decide to go, you know I’m with you, right?” He asked gently, kissing her shoulder.

Lydia nodded, sighing as she turned, sitting sideways on his lap so that she could communicate with him more easily as she finished opening the letters. Northwestern was a no, Columbia and NYU had accepted her. ‘Those were the only schools I applied to. I figured if I got five rejection letters, I would just settle for something else for a year or two and try again.’ She kissed Derek, trying not to dwell on the fact that she was going to end up on the other side of the country, unless she enrolled in a community college.

Kissing her back solidly, Derek slid his arm around her waist. “So which one did you want to pick?” He asked. “You’ve got three incredible schools that want you to attend. Where are we going?” The ‘we’ slipped out without a second thought - it was a given. Wherever Lydia chose to go to school, Derek would follow.

Lydia put her hand over her eyes for a moment, shaking her head as she smiled. ‘It depends on where everyone else is going.’ 

Derek lifted her free hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. “Fair enough.” He smiled at her. “I’m proud of you, you know?” He said quietly.

Lydia pointed at herself, then at Derek, before pointing at herself a second time. She nodded. 

Derek grinned at her. “You’re proud of me, too, huh?” He hugged her. “I didn’t do anything nearly as incredible as you have, though.”

Lydia rolled her eyes and smiled. ‘I have to tell my mom.’ She picked up the acceptance letters and walked downstairs, going into the kitchen when she heard water running in the sink. 

Natalie looked up as Lydia entered the room, then smiled. “Hi, sweetie! What’s going on?”

Lydia held the papers out to her mom, then got herself a glass of orange juice. She signed slowly, making sure her mom could understand what she was saying. ‘I’m going to end up on the other side of the country.’ 

Natalie stared down at the papers, unsure what to make of them at first until she caught the college emblem emblazoned in the corner of the paper. Her mouth opened, and she let out a soft huff of a laugh before turning to look at her daughter. “I don’t know what to say.” She murmured. “I, just… I’m so proud, but…” She set the papers down and scrubbed at her face. “I didn’t expect all of them to be on the other end of the country.”

Lydia shook her head, then turned toward the fridge, writing on a sheet of paper for the grocery list, ‘I was really hoping for Stanford or Northwestern, but they both sent me rejection letters. My only other option is a smaller school, close by.’ 

“You want to stay here, then?” Natalie asked, looking confused. She thought for a moment, and then said, “You still have time to apply to some schools. Why don’t you try Humboldt, or UC Shasta?”

Lydia shook her head again and tapped her index finger on the papers she had shown her mom. ‘I’m going to one of these schools.’ 

Natalie pressed a hand to her head, looking down at the papers. “Okay. Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll help you, as best I can.”

Lydia nodded and turned back to the fridge, grabbing the paper she had written on. She turned it over and scrawled across the back. ‘Wherever I end up going, Derek is coming with me. I want to make sure there’s plenty for him to do while I’m attending classes.’ 

“So he needs a job.” Natalie frowned in thought. “Okay. Well, I can start looking into positions in the area of these three, but I’ll probably need Derek’s help, since I don’t exactly know what he can do, work-wise. Is there anything else?”

‘Not yet.’ Lydia signed, then took a deep breath. ‘I need to talk to Allison.’ 

“In person, I’m assuming.” Natalie stood and smiled at her daughter. “I’ll call her and ask her to come over, okay?”

Lydia smiled patiently, even though she was getting frustrated. She knew her mom wanted to help her, and she was trying to be considerate about it, but text messaging existed for a reason. ‘I’ve got it.’ She signed, going back upstairs to get her phone and text Allison. ‘I opened my responses for my college applications. Come over?’ She looked up at Derek, tossing her phone onto her bed and kissing him. 

Derek laughed softly, hauling her into his lap and laying back to kiss her. He settled his arms around her waist and stared up at her, his eyes affectionate. “You look flustered.” He commented quietly, his fingers swirling and inscribing designs onto her skin. “Everything alright? Did your mother take the news well?”

Lydia squirmed a little, lifting her hands to Derek’s line of sight as she signed. ‘She wants to help me with everything, which I know I should be grateful for. But she’s doing too much and treating me like an infant.’ 

“She’s probably not doing it on purpose.” Derek murmured, sweeping his large hands over her back before moving down again. “She just isn’t sure what to do, so she’s overcompensating. She’s been so used to your voice for so long, it’s hard to come to terms with it being gone.”

Lydia nodded. ‘I know.’ She put her head down on Derek’s chest, sighing as she rubbed his shoulder. 

Derek bent his head down, burying his nose in the nape of Lydia’s neck, behind her ear. He pressed a faint kiss to the column of her throat, sliding his hand over her side and down again, exhaling softly. “I’m crazy about you.” He murmured softly, sounding a little tentative. “I didn’t really think it could be possible, between us, but… I’m so gone for you, I can’t think straight sometimes.”

Lydia hesitated, trying to figure out how to respond. There was a really simple sign she had learned months ago, from Scott, but she wanted the first time she said such a thing to Derek to be in her own voice. She tilted her head back to kiss Derek, getting up and picking up her phone to see if Allison had texted her. 

Derek pressed a kiss to her shoulder, paying no mind to the fact that she hadn’t replied. He’d seen the hesitance on her face and resigned himself to the idea that she wasn’t comfortable saying anything just yet - it wasn’t like he didn’t understand. Every time he’d said the words in the past, they had come back and bitten him in the ass, until finally, he’d just stopped trying. If the words could get past the lump in his throat whenever he looked at Lydia, it would be a miracle. Until then, he’d just focus on making her feel as absolutely amazing as he possibly could. His fingers reached up to slide her top off of her shoulder.

Allison _had_ replied to Lydia’s text. ‘I want 2 come over, definitely. It might be a while, tho. My dad’s having panic-withdrawals again, I guess? He’s trying 2 spend more time w/ me w/out Stiles here. @.@’

Lydia grimaced. Using numbers in place of words drove her crazy, when it came to text messages, so she couldn’t help feeling a little vindictive as she responded with a simple, ‘k’ and set her phone down, sitting down beside Derek. 

“Can’t make it?” Derek asked her quietly.

Lydia snorted and handed her phone to him, so that he could read the messages between herself and Allison. 

Derek took the phone and frowned at the messages. “.... Why are there two ‘at’ symbols at the end?” He asked in confusion.

Lydia smiled brightly and hugged Derek, kissing his cheek. ‘Thank you.’ 

Derek smiled back at her, returning the kiss, but there was still a confused expression on his face. “You’re welcome.” He kissed her again, leaning over her, then pulled back. “But seriously, what does it mean?”

Lydia pointed at the symbols in Allison’s text, then lifted her hand to point at her eyes with her index and middle fingers. 

“Oh.” Derek grimaced, then rolled his eyes. “That’s a little weird.” He rested above her, his hips pressed solidly against hers. “So, we’re alone for a while, then?” He asked cheekily, his eyes glinting.

Lydia nodded, feeling herself start to blush. It wasn’t something she was used to, but Derek had a way of making her feel a little overwhelmed by life in general, and not in an unpleasant way. 

Derek grinned. “Then it looks like I can take my time with you.” He stood up, gently lowering Lydia onto her back, before he crossed the room to lock the door. He made his way back toward the bed and settled himself over her, kissing her slowly as his hands slid under her, cupping her ass and squeezing gently.

Lydia kissed back eagerly, bringing a hand up to the back of Derek’s neck. She had never had a problem with sex, but not being able to talk normally meant that she was growing accustomed to expressing herself through any other means, and sex had been one of those ways. 

“Beautiful,” Derek murmured, and ground down against her gently, using his grip on her backside to hold her against him. He grunted as he hardened against her, his mouth moving down to her throat, sucking and licking firmly at her pale skin.

Lydia reached down to unfasten Derek’s jeans, slipping a hand in to palm him through his underwear. 

Derek thrust into her hand, pausing briefly to pant wetly against her throat, his eyes closing for a moment before he pulled back. “Lift up,” he whispered, kissing her ear and chin. “Arms over your head.”

Lydia arched her back and put her arms up, her hands resting on her pillows. She watched Derek, listening carefully for any sign that her mom might come upstairs.

Derek tugged her blouse over her head, lifting Lydia’s head gently, and then tossed the shirt to the ground. His hands slid down her arms to her shoulders before he cupped her breasts through her bra. Dipping his head down, he wrapped his lips around her nipple through the lacy material, sucking gently and grinding himself between her thighs with each pull of his lips. His other hand stroked the breast he wasn’t occupied with, thumbing across her nipple and squeezing gently as he rutted against her.

Lydia breathed in shakily as she wrapped her legs around Derek’s waist, sliding her hands under the collar of his shirt to touch his back. 

“Do you feel good?” Derek asked quietly, dragging the cup of her bra down and swiping his tongue around her nipple. “I can make you feel better. I promise.” His dick pressed firmly against her, pressed right against the very center of her through her clothes, and he groaned softly as his hips rolled. He suckled at her before he turned his attention to her other breast and treated it to more of the same. “I wonder if I can make you come just by playing with you like this.” He murmured, and stopped the thrust of his hips, lifting them away from her. 

Lydia huffed in frustration, even though she wasn’t really that bothered. She smiled, pressing her fingernails down into his skin. 

Derek chuckled at the sharp prick of her nails in his back, bending down to take her into his mouth again, giving her a sharp, pronounced suck before moving down her belly, teasing at the skin of her abdomen and hip. “Then again, I feel like maybe you would benefit more if I made you come by playing somewhere else.” His tongue dipped beneath her waistband playfully.

Lydia lifted her hips, staring down at Derek as she smirked and shook her head faintly, amused by how playful he was being. 

“Oh, do you want me to take your bottoms off?” Derek asked, his eyes sparkling. He pressed his lips at the apex of her thighs through her pants, poking his tongue out and pressing it against her. His tongue flicked up and down slowly. “You mean, I can’t make you come like this?”

Lydia lifted a hand to Derek’s hair, tugging sharply and frowning at him, one eyebrow raised. 

“You sure?” Derek asked, reaching up to hook his fingers into the soft fleece. He peered up at her, smiling faintly. “Alright, but only if you’re sure.” He yanked at the pants, pulling them to her ankles in one move before tugging them off completely. Her underwear followed a second later, tossed over Derek’s shoulder uncaringly as he lowered his head and dipped his tongue directly inside of her. He tugged a leg over his shoulder, dragging his tongue over her clit and flicking the nub repeatedly before wrapping his lips around it and sucking sharply.

Lydia grabbed Derek’s hand and pulled it toward her, biting down on his fingers as she came. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily. 

Derek groaned against her, licking her clean. He didn’t mind her teeth in his skin - honestly, it made him harder, and he yanked at his boxers until his erection was pushing out of the flap. Wrapping a hand around himself, he settled back against Lydia, wrapping his lips around her nipple once more as he stroked.

Lydia squirmed, tugging Derek’s hand away from her mouth and sighing. 

Derek dropped his face down against her neck, resting his forehead against her collarbone before he tugged at his boxers, pushing them out of the way and slowly pressing his dick inside of her. He hitched one of her legs over his hip and settled down against her, his hips moving minutely. “Love having you around me.” He breathed against her.

Lydia exhaled slowly. She lifted a hand, forming ‘I love you,’ and held it up for Derek to see. She didn’t know if she ever would get her voice back, and she was too tired of wondering when it would happen.

Derek swallowed thickly, staring at the symbol she’d formed with her hands so easily. He dipped his head down, kissing her deeply. The words slipped out without any further thought, and he buried his face in his neck, repeating them almost desperately against her skin as he moved inside of her. “I love you. I love you, Lydia.” He whispered.

Lydia felt like she had just downed a cup of hot chocolate, her throat warm. She whimpered, her eyes widening. “Derek.” 

Derek stilled, frozen in an instant, and stared at her, his eyes widening. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly and he reached up to cup her throat, running his thumb down the line of it gently. “Again.” He requested, like he was attempting to make sure that it wasn’t a fluke.

Lydia smiled. “Derek.” She repeated, then laughed. 

“Oh, god.” Derek blurted out, his arm winding around her and tugging her firmly to his chest. He kissed her as deeply as he could, pouring every single feeling he thought he’d ever had about her against her lips.

“I have a lot of things that I need to say to people.” Lydia murmured. “I love you. I love you.” 

Derek trailed his fingers over her cheek, still staring at her in disbelief. “I can’t believe… God. Lydia.” His words were reverent, and he cupped her chin, shifting and shivering when he realized he was still inside of her. He thrust gently. “I love you.” He did it again, and then again, the words leaving his mouth each time he pressed in, like he was trying to make sure that she only ever associated those words with his voice, as his body surrounded hers.

Lydia lifted her head to kiss Derek, putting her arms around him. She had been so worried that she wouldn’t be able to go to any of the colleges she wanted, since she couldn’t speak. Now that she could, she didn’t even care about her future classes, she just wanted to stay with Derek and talk about whatever he wanted. 

Derek breathed deeply, his arms wrapping around hers, and he rolled to his back as he pulled her above him. His hands slid down, settling on her hips as he lifted and lowered her against him. 

Lydia came again, not caring what her mom thought about the noise and what it meant as she cried out, leaning down to kiss Derek. 

Derek kissed her back eagerly, his hands holding her tightly against him as he pounded up into her. Clenching her hips, he pressed her down against him as he spurted inside of her, his back arching and forcing him to break away from her lips.

“I love you.” Lydia said again, smiling down at him. She took his hands, lacing her fingers with his. 

He laid back, staring up at her with a dazed smile as he brought their linked fingers to his lips. “How?” He asked softly. “I - was it the words? The feeling behind them?” He shook his head. “If I’d known… I love you. I don’t think I’m ever going to get sick of the words. Not now.”

“Maybe it was just time, maybe it was that you said it. I don’t know.” Lydia couldn’t help giggling. “I feel a little idiotic. I was so fixated on _The Little Mermaid_ when I was younger, and my grandmother even called me Ariel. I never thought I’d become a banshee or have to make the decision to give up my voice, and I never thought I’d end up with someone like you. I guess it makes sense, if the Fates had anything to do with this at all. They’ve tried to give us what we wanted, I think. I love you. I don’t care how I got my voice back, I only care that I have it and that I can say the words out loud.” 

Derek tugged her down against him, laughing, and pressed his face against her shoulder. “I’ve never been so relieved to... “ He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut. “I don’t ever get what I want. Bad things tend to happen when I do.” He swallowed, staring up at her. “You’re the first good thing to happen to me since I was sixteen, Lydia.” He said softly.

Lydia smiled gently. “You don’t count Stiles?” She teased. Knowing that the Furies had messed with her and made her believe she was dating Jackson again had been, well, infuriating. If she ever encountered them again, she didn’t care what the rules were for deities, she was going to make them suffer. 

Derek tilted his head, snorting. “Not for this, no.” He told her. “Stiles counts in other ways, but not like this. Not like you. Never like you.” He kissed her again. “You’re everything.”

“I’m so - I was amazed that you understood everything I was saying, even before we started learning sign language.” Lydia kissed Derek. “I don’t want to be away from you. I don’t know where I’m going to college, but I need you with me. If you want to stay here in California, I’ll just have to find a college willing to accept me.” 

Derek smiled softly at her, his eyes closing as he kissed her again and again. “I’ll go anywhere you want. I’ll take you to Ireland, I’ll follow you to the East Coast, I’ll trail you right back here to Beacon Hills. Anywhere, everywhere. I think you’re -” He looked at her, grabbing her hand and kissing the center of her palm, his lips lingering. “You’re the other part of me.”

Lydia smiled, nodding back at him. “I’m so fixated on rational thoughts, but there’s nothing rational about love, and I think I feel the same way about you.” 

“I hope I can keep you feeling that way for a long time.” Derek told her, and tugged her once more against his chest, hugging her. He slid out of her carefully after a moment, kissing her lips sweetly, and rolled to his feet, holding his hands out to her. “Let’s get you cleaned up. I think we’ve got some good news to tell the rest of the pack,” he chuckled.

Lydia nodded, sending Allison another quick text. ‘If you’re planning to come over now, wait at least half an hour.’ 

‘Will do,’ came the reply, not quite instantly, but fast enough to make it apparent that Allison had clearly lost her patience with her father.

Lydia glanced at her phone as she was about to set it in the speaker in her bathroom, to play music. She typed another message to her best friend, instead. ‘Or come over now and wait for me and Derek to finish showering. We won’t be long.’ 

‘Thank you!’ Allison replied. ‘Be there soon.’

Derek looped his arms around Lydia’s waist from behind, peering over her shoulder at the phone and huffing his amusement into her hair. “So should we just call everyone here, then?”

“Yeah.” Lydia laughed. “But we have to hurry in the shower. I’ll make it up to you later.” She sent a text to the rest of the pack, then stepped into the tub to take a shower. 

Derek chuckled and stepped in after her. “Trust me - I don’t mind that at all.”

Lydia turned the shower on, turning around to face Derek as she tilted her head back to wet her hair. “If I go to MIT, Jackson will probably go to Harvard. If he gets in, of course. And that could prove to make our lives difficult. I’m trying to be considerate, and I know he’s dating Cora now, but he’s an ass.” 

Derek smiled faintly, reaching up to work the water into her hair before reaching for her shampoo and pouring a bit into his palm. He lathered it into her hair as he spoke. “I don’t know. I have a feeling my sister could make him toe the line pretty well. Jackson’s dealt with Hales in many capacities, but he’s never dated one until now, and Cora’s fairly… ah, demanding, let’s say.”

“Well, it may be easier then, for the four of us to find an apartment together.” Lydia mused. “If I want to attend MIT. Columbia is starting to sound better and better.” She laughed. 

Derek chuckled, positioning her under the spray and tilting her head back until the floor ran soapy, his fingers stroking through her hair to coax the shampoo out. “Wherever you want to go. Personally…” He paused, taking a deep breath, then admitted, “I went to NYU.”

“What did you study?” Lydia smiled, standing up on her toes to kiss him. 

Derek smiled, kissing her back. “Architecture with a minor in Architectural History.” He told her, then sighed. “After the fire - all I could think of was ways to strengthen the integrity of a house, so that…”

“I’m dating Ted Mosby.” Lydia murmured. “Well, this is a disappointment.” She laughed. “Do you like The Proclaimers?” 

Derek snorted, tickling her side. “Definitely not. And I am in no way Ted Mosby. For one, I haven’t fixated all of my attention on a woman who may or may not want me back as she dates my best friend.”

“Well, you’re not Barney or Marshall.” Lydia remarked, giggling. “What other shows do you like?” 

Derek kissed her lightly. “The older tv shows. The ones that aired in the sixties and seventies, you know? My parents loved them, we all watched them. _Happy Days, I Love Lucy, Get Smart, The Addams Family._ ” He shrugged a wet shoulder. “There are some more recent shows, too, I mean.” He looked sulky. “I really liked _Moonlight_.”

Lydia had pumped liquid soap into her hands as she listened to Derek. She rubbed her hands together, then spread the soap across his chest. “You’re adorable.” She glanced up at him. “I want to watch tv with you. And more movies.” 

Derek’s eyes closed, and he let a low rumble escape his chest. His hands snaked down and clutched her thighs as he nuzzled against her cheek. “Sounds like a good night in,” he murmured. “I can’t wait.”

Lydia turned her head to kiss Derek, then used a washcloth to rinse the soap from his chest. “All done?” She looked up at him, smiling. 

“Yes. And we should probably get out of the shower before I try to take you up against the wall.” Derek told her, his eyes glowing.

“We’ll have time for that later.” Lydia laughed again and turned the water off, getting out and wrapping a towel around herself before she handed another towel to Derek. She dried off and put her bathrobe on, going into her room to get dressed. 

Derek wrapped the towel around his waist, following Lydia back to her room and dropping a kiss on her shoulder before he followed her lead. Once he was dressed, he stopped and looked at her, smiling. “Hey.”

Lydia smiled. “Hi.” She set her hairbrush down and put her arms around his neck. “At least now I won’t feel entirely out of place in Ireland. I was a little horrified at the idea of going there and not being able to talk.” 

Derek grinned at her, his arms around her waist in an instant. “I’m sure you would have handled it the way you handled losing your voice.” He murmured. “But now, you can learn a few phrases in Irish and Welsh. If you’d like to.” He kissed her slowly. “ _Féidir liom mhúineadh duit._ ”

“Mmm. Okay.” Lydia nodded. “I would like that.” She giggled. “I’ve been studying already. But it sounds nicer when you say it.” 

Derek laughed. “I should have known that you’d be practicing already.” He kissed her again, his offer to teach her strengthening his resolve. He’d take Lydia to Ireland, and he’d teach her everything he knew.

“I should go tell my mom I can actually talk now.” Lydia took a step back. “Come with me?” 

Derek grinned. “Anywhere. Always.”

Lydia smiled back and held Derek’s hand as she walked out of her room and downstairs. “Mom?” She giggled. 

“Yes, Lydia?” Natalie asked, looking up. She turned to face her daughter, then stopped, blinking in slowly-dawning, wide-eyed amazement. “Lydia?” She said again, standing and moving closer to her daughter. 

“It just happened.” Lydia explained, not wanting to admit the more extensive details. “Two and a half months was too long.” 

Natalie let out a laugh and forward, wrapping Lydia up in her arms. “Oh, baby, I’m so glad.” She laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of Lydia’s head.

“Me too.” Lydia hugged her mom. “Because you were driving me insane. I know you didn’t do it intentionally, but you were babying me. You can’t do that, Mom.” 

Natalie groaned. “I’m sorry, honey.” She sighed. “It was like we were right back to when you were a baby and you couldn’t speak because you’d _never_ said any words, only you were grown, and I just…” She shut her eyes and let go of Lydia, but cupped her daughter’s face in both hands, her touch gentle. “It’s terrifying to realize how much I came to rely on hearing your voice every day. It’s a sound that I need in my life.”

“I’ll call you and lecture you about your shoes at least once a week, when I’m in college.” Lydia promised, grinning. “Wherever I end up going.” 

Natalie grinned back. “And I’m sure I’ll take your advice, just like I always do.” She kissed Lydia’s forehead. “I love you, honey.”

“I love you, too.” Lydia smiled. 

“I’m here!” Allison called as she came into the house. “And I brought my pack mule. And the rest of the pack.” She called, peeking around the corner. She nudged Stiles with her knees, grinning down at him from where she was clinging to his back. “Giddyap, Handsome.”

“You two frighten me.” Lydia remarked, her expression blank as she waited for them to catch on to the fact that she had spoken. 

“Please, living in terror is a fact of life for us now.” Allison replied before blinking at Lydia. Without her gaze leaving the other girl, she poked Stiles’ belly. “Did she just…”

Stiles nodded, lowering Allison toward the floor. “She did.” He stared at Lydia. “How long have you been able to talk?” 

“About forty minutes now.” Lydia smiled. “Also, I got into MIT, Columbia and NYU. Stanford rejected me. So did Northwestern.” 

“Fuck them both.” Scott blurted, coming up behind Stiles and Allison before he all but lunged at Lydia, wrapping her up in a hug and lifting her off of the floor. “You can talk!” He crowed in excitement, swinging her around.

Lydia laughed and kissed Scott’s forehead. “Derek fixed it. I think so, anyway.” 

Derek leaned against the counter, folding his arms and smiling. “I really hope I did.” He murmured.

“What did you do?” Stiles asked Derek, wrapping an arm around Allison. “Deaton said Lydia might never get her voice back, because of the Furies being warded away from here.” 

Derek mimicked Stiles’ stance, lightly tugging Lydia away from Scott and wrapping both arms around her. He looked down at her, like he was waiting for her to give permission, and smiled faintly.

Lydia nodded, smiling back at Derek. She wanted him to be the one to tell, because while it was a big deal for both of them, it was more important for Derek. 

Derek took a deep breath, tilted his head, then lifted his chin and gave Lydia a squeeze. “I told her I loved her.” He said quietly, his voice clear.

Allison’s entire face softened into a smile. “Aww!” She couldn’t help cooing at them. “Your love broke the spell.” Something occurred to her, and she straightened, looking delighted. “Lydia! Your relationship is a Disney fairytale!”

Natalie let out a quiet laugh off to the side. “That actually makes sense.” She murmured.

“That’s really cute.” Stiles grinned. 

Lydia shrugged, even though she had already been thinking the same thing and had said as much to Derek. 

Allison scooted away from Stiles, finally throwing her arms around Lydia and hugging her tightly. “I’m so glad your voice is back.” She said quietly. “It makes it so much easier to hear your voice when I ask you to be my maid of honor, and our baby’s godmother.”

“What?” Lydia jerked backward and grabbed Allison’s left hand. “Hey! I should have been told immediately. When did this happen?” 

Allison giggled. “It happened on my birthday.” She lifted her head to smile back at Stiles. “We’re not planning for anytime soon. Not until the baby’s here. But it’s definitely going to happen, and I want you next to me. I didn’t tell anyone because we wanted to wait until they entire pack was together before we said anything.”

Scott clapped a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “Dude! Why wouldn’t you tell _me_?” He whined, but grinned, throwing his arms around his best friend’s shoulders and hugging him tightly.

Stiles hugged Scott. “Well, I kind of had to think about it.” He murmured, feeling a little embarrassed. “I want you to be my best man, but as far as being a godparent goes, I just... um, well, Lydia’s dating Derek.” He stammered. 

Scott thought it over for a moment, and then poked Stiles’ belly. “Dibs on your next kid.” He said firmly.

“What?” Derek blinked, looking confused.

Stiles hugged Scott again, then turned to face Derek. “Do you want to be a godparent?” 

Staring at Stiles and looking stunned, Derek’s mouth opened uncertainly before he looked down at Lydia. “I… Yes.” He took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, please. I would… I’d be honored.”

“When are you planning to get married?” Lydia demanded, then turned to kiss Derek before she faced Allison again. “This winter or next spring, maybe?” 

Allison looked back at Stiles. “Maybe next spring? If the baby is big enough by then, we can go down the aisle with them. Maybe have them be the ring bearer, or the flower girl.” Her cheeks were growing rosy, flushing in excitement.

“If you want that, you might want to wait until next summer.” Lydia said gently. “Just to be sure the baby can walk by then.” She smiled. “And we’ll have more time for parties, too.” 

“True.” Allison admitted. She nudged Stiles. “What do you think?”

Stiles shook his head. “I wanna marry you on our anniversary.” He grinned. “The baby will be about a month old, I think. We’ll figure that out. Maybe we’ll just rent a place for the whole day and get married when we’re sure he or she is asleep.” 

Allison ducked her head, a wide, silly smile on her face. “You just don’t want to have to remember another date,” she teased him, grinning at him brilliantly as she bounced over to him to kiss him happily.

“Accuse me of whatever you want.” Stiles muttered, smiling. “Every day is awesome, so I don’t care.” 

Lydia sighed, feeling nostalgic already. “In another six months, everything is going to be so different.” 

Derek pulled her close to him, pressing a kiss to her temple. “It will be. It’s life.” He smiled down at her. “But at least it’ll change for the better.” He murmured.

“Hey, I won’t be a sophomore anymore, so that’s good enough for me.” Liam piped up, grinning faintly.

Jackson hopped up onto Lydia’s kitchen counter, the way he’d been wont to do when they’d been dating, and dragged Cora back against him. “That’ll be good enough for everyone. McCall, that’s your resolution for the rest of the year.” He told Scott, pointing a finger at him. “If you’re gonna bite anyone else, no more under-sixteens.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, Jackson,” he muttered, his cheeks turning red.

Lydia rolled her eyes, as well. “Jackson, did you hear back from Harvard, yet?” 

Jackson looked up at her, a proud quirk at the corner of his mouth. “Sure as hell did. Heard from Duke, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago, and Boston U, too. Still waiting on Pomona and Berkeley.”

Lydia was silent as she took a deep breath. “You applied to seven schools and five of them have accepted you, so far?” 

Jackson shifted, suddenly not looking quite so proud. “Well… I didn’t say that.” He muttered. “I said I heard from ‘em.” He scratched at the back of his head, avoiding her eyes. “Harvard turned me down.” He finally said quietly. “So did Duke. U of C accepted me, and so did Carnegie, but Boston didn’t. I’m just waiting on the other two to see who rounds out the list.” He slumped back, his fingers twining in Cora’s hair listlessly. “I didn’t really think I was going to get accepted to Harvard, anyway. Fucking pipe dream.”

“Stanford turned me down.” Lydia muttered, nodding at her ex-boyfriend. “It’s fine, when I get the Fields Medal, I’ll mention that in interviews.” 

Jackson stared at her, and then snorted. “Stanford’s fucking stupid. They’re gonna be kicking their own asses.”

Scott shifted a little. “I’m going to Sacramento.” He announced. “I mean, University of California, Sacramento. I’m not staying on campus, I’m gonna stay with my mom and work at the clinic, and take online classes and commute, but yeah. That’s… where I’m going.”

“I’m not worrying about it yet.” Stiles murmured. “Police training first, and then I’ll figure out college after I start working with my dad. But I’ll be doing online classes, too. Especially when Ally does her training course.” 

Malia wrinkled her nose. “I’ll get my GED when I feel like sitting through classes, and then I don’t know what I’ll do. But I don’t care that much, anyway.” 

Jackson nudged Cora with his knee. “What about you?” 

“You figure out where we’re going, I’ll find something to do when we get there.” Cora shrugged at him. “But that doesn’t involve cleaning up after you, so no drunken fratboy bullshit, you get me?” 

Jackson scowled at her. “I wasn’t gonna - shut up, Cora.”

Cora turned to face Jackson. “What did you just say to me?” She folded her arms across her chest and stared at her boyfriend. 

Jackson backtracked quickly. “I said, uh… You’re fucking gorgeous and I adore you, come to college with me?”

Allison cupped a hand over her mouth and tried not to giggle. She failed when she heard Scott let out a hiccupping snort.

Lydia grinned, watching in delight. 

“I thought that’s what you said.” Cora nodded. “Okay. You figure out where you’re going, I’ll handle deciding what I do when we get there.” 

Jackson nodded rapidly, his cheeks red as he scowled at everyone else. “Deal.” He mumbled.

Derek smirked proudly at his little sister, subtly holding his knuckles out to bump against hers. “That’s my girl.” He said quietly.

Cora smiled and bumped her fist against her brother’s. 

Stiles glanced over at Lydia, then looked at Scott and inclined his head toward the banshee, giving his best friend a questioning look. He wanted the three of them to have a chance to spend time together. Before Allison moved to Beacon Hills, before Derek’s family was nearly wiped out in a house fire, Stiles had been in elementary school with Lydia and Scott. He understood Lydia’s frustration. He was starting to feel it, too. 

Scott’s face softened, and he nodded at Stiles. His own head tilted to the side curiously, and he raised his eyebrows, silently mouthing ‘when?’ at Stiles. He was desperate to spend time with them, too - as crazy as he was about Malia, he couldn’t help but remember the days when Stiles had been his only friend, when Lydia had been as out of reach as a star in the night sky; he was the Alpha of this pack, and his pack was turning loose. Lydia might be on the other side of the country by the next fall, and they wouldn’t see her for a good deal of the summer while she was in Ireland with Derek. Scott knew his own time hanging out with Stiles was going to be preciously limited, once he was going to school and working. And Stiles himself would be more focused on his wedding, his child, and his own work and schooling as the next few months passed. Scott wanted to cling desperately to them and never let them go, but knew how futile it would be. Sometimes, one had no choice _but_ to let go.

‘Now?’ Stiles mouthed, looking pensive. He wasn’t sure how to explain to the rest of the pack that the three of them just needed time to themselves. 

Scott nodded again, standing straight and stretching out a little. He pressed a kiss to Malia’s cheek, looking down at her. “Go spend some time with Derek and Cora, okay? They’ll be leaving soon, and it might be a while before you get a chance to again. I need to talk to Stiles and Lydia about some stuff, so they won’t be there.”

Malia smiled. “Okay. I guess we’ll go back to the apartments, then?” She looked at Cora and Derek for confirmation.

Derek smiled back at his cousin. “Sounds good to me.” He leaned down toward Lydia, cupping her chin and giving her a slow, firm kiss. “I’ll see you later?” He asked, smiling down at her. 

“Mm-hmm.” Lydia grinned. “I’ll call you.” She nodded. “Now that I can.” 

Derek grinned. “I can’t wait.”

Cora shrugged, then looked at Jackson. “You should go talk to Danny, anyway.” She smiled. “I’ll see you later.” 

Jackson bent his head down to kiss her. “Definitely later.” He murmured, and then pressed another kiss to her collar.

Stiles kissed Allison and rubbed her stomach gently. “And I’ll see you two later.” He grinned. 

Allison giggled and kissed Stiles back. “You bet.” She told him, nuzzling her cheek against his for a brief moment before she blinked, realizing she’d inadvertently marked him like one of the wolves would have. She looked minutely embarrassed, but grinned anyway.

Stiles laughed and kissed Allison. “I love you.” He took a step back, toward Scott, watching as most of the pack left. 

Lydia looked from Stiles to Scott. “Okay, am I in trouble?” She asked cautiously. “Is there some kind of intervention about to happen?” 

“No.” Stiles shook his head. “We just realized that the three of us have known each other nearly our entire lives and we’ve only got about three months before we’ll be really busy with life in general. You’re going to the other side of the country and we’ll barely see you for the next four years. Or eight? I don’t know how long you plan on attending college.” 

“How long does getting a degree in World Domination take, anyway?” Scott asked, smiling affectionately at Lydia. “Now that you’ve got your voice back, you could have minions. Think about it. They’ll be falling all over to obey you and Derek.”

Lydia smiled. “World Domination is my minor. I’m majoring in Intergalactic Relations. And I already have Malia as one of my recognized minions. I’m just waiting for the rest of you to catch on that I’ve been running things for years.” 

Scott tilted his head back in understanding. “I’ve been wondering why Malia’s seemed so busy. Huh. And that actually explains a lot.” He dropped his arm around Lydia’s shoulder, his other wrapping around Stiles.

“Wanna go see a movie?” Stiles suggested. 

Lydia scoffed, shaking her head. “I’ve been mute for two months, Stiles! I want to talk. I’d read a phone book out loud right now, I’m that eager to actually use my voice.” 

Scott looked at Stiles. “I feel like this could benefit the guild, somehow.”

Stiles nodded. “Lydia, go get your laptop.” 

***

_March 30, 2013_

Lydia convinced Derek, who asked Cora, who badgered Jackson, who had a simple conversation with Danny. And suddenly, everyone was playing World of Warcraft. 

“Get - go left!” Stiles yelled into his headset. 

“Names, Stiles!” Lydia snapped. “We don’t know who you’re talking to, if you don’t use them.” 

“He’s used to playing with just me and Ally, that’s why,” Scott interrupted, clicking frantically with his mouse and all but bashing in his one and two number keys. “Ally, go left, Lydia, go right. I’ll come up the middle with Derek, Cora and Malia can get him from behind. Jackson, Danny, _please_ make sure we don’t die?”

Danny snorted. “No problem.” He targeted Allison with a healing spell, then clicked on Scott’s character to do the same thing a moment later. 

Isaac logged into the game, groaning when he realized everyone else was in the middle of completing a dungeon. “I’m here.” He announced. “I’m going to do a quest in Panda-land.” 

“Pandaria!” Allison sang, grinning viciously as she sent her pet to maul the boss, loading an aimed shot and then quickly following it up with her Wyvern Sting. Her face fell. “Oh, come _on_ , he’s _immune_ to that?! Asshole!”

Lydia giggled. “It’s much easier dealing with things on a computer than real life.” She had a rogue character, mostly because of her fondness for her best friend, and cast Shuriken Toss to attack an enemy from a safe distance. “I should learn how to actually do this.” 

Derek let out a low, annoyed growl from beside Lydia, glaring at his screen as he jabbed at his hot keys. “I don’t like this guy. I’m getting kind of sick of him throwing me in the air every time he moves.” 

Lydia turned to kiss Derek’s cheek. “I’m sick of him regenerating health.” She yawned. “We’ll have to keep doing this after Derek and I move.” 

Derek used a lull as he was waiting for a spell to cool down to kiss Lydia back. “We definitely will, but as for this guy, can we wrap things up? Lydia’s tired, guys.”

Scott groaned. “I just gotta do the thing, just hang on.” He begged and promptly howled in protest when his health meter dropped, killing him. “No! Jackson, _why_?”

Jackson snarled quietly. “If you haven’t noticed, Danny and I sort of have our hands a little bit full with keeping _all_ of your asses alive, McCall.” He snapped. “Just get to the fucking graveyard, res and get your ass back in here.”

“I hate raiding!” Stiles blurted. “Hate it. We suck at this, I’m sick of this douche, and I’m about two seconds from rage-quitting the damn game for the night.” 

“We’re just having an off night, Stiles.” Lydia murmured, leaning against Derek’s side. “We’ll get better.” 

“His health percent thingy is still going down, though!” Allison blurted excitedly. “Whatever Danny and Malia are doing, it’s working. Cora, stab it, stab it, stab! Now!” Forgetting herself, she bounced up and down on the bed she and Stiles were sharing, jostling her boyfriend in her eagerness.

“Allison, I love you, but I - motherfucking assfaced fuck no _why_?!” Stiles yelled. “I’ll come right back.” He groaned as he made his character move back toward the instance, resurrecting himself and looking around for Scott. “Hate this game.” 

Allison let out a frustrated noise. “What is the point of the stupid fucking Spirit Bond if it doesn’t keep me and Aura alive long enough to use it?!” She whined, dropping back against her pillow and looking up at Stiles with a pout.

Scott darted back into the instance, making his way back down the paths until he’d reached the rest of his pack. “Maybe it has something to do with Jackson’s inability to focus on more than one person during a heal.” He said snidely, then let out a war cry as his human threw himself into the fray.

“One fucking time, McCall!” Jackson snapped. He clicked on Allison’s body and resurrected her quickly before quickly hitting his group healing spell several times until everyone was at maximum once more.

Allison looked delighted, taking aim once more, once she’d resurrected her pet wolf. “Thanks, Jackson!”

“When we’re done with this, we should go to Pandaria and fight those stupid monkeys.” Malia suggested. “I don’t like the way they’re always stealing from the pandas.” 

“Count me out, I’m tired.” Lydia protested. “I’ve spent all day looking at apartments online, before Allison nagged me to get on here.” She laughed. “I just want to go to sleep." 

“I didn’t nag!” Allison said defensively. “I begged. There was a subtle difference. I hate those monkeys.” She tacked on to the end, as approval of Malia’s suggestion. 

A few minutes later, Lydia said goodnight to the rest of the pack members, logging off just as Liam logged on. She put her computer away and laid down on her bed, looking up at Derek. “I love you.” 

Derek smiled at her, the ache in his cheeks a persistent reminder of exactly how much he'd been smiling when it came to Lydia and those words in her voice. "I love you, too. " He replied instantly. He quickly made his explanations in the chat, greeted Liam, and then bid the pack a good night before he logged off and clambered into the bed with Lydia, his arms going around her solidly. He wouldn't waste any chance to hold Lydia if he could help it.

"I'm going to Columbia." Lydia murmured. "They accept less than ten percent of their applicants, and I got in. I have to go there. I might take a class or two at NYU, though." She looked over her shoulder at Derek. "I was thinking of Applied Mathematics, anyway. But Engineering would be a great thing to minor in. I haven't stopped thinking of how to build a more fireproof home, since you mentioned it. I think we could find a way." She yawned again and closed her eyes.

Derek kissed the top of her head sweetly, his hands rubbing soothingly up and down her back. "I'm sure between the two of us, we could do it." He murmured, staring up at the ceiling. He was sorry that he'd been so gullible and naive as a teenager. He was sorry that he hadn't been able to save his family from Kate. Hopefully, with what he and Lydia could do, he could hope to begin to make it up to them, and forgive himself for his part in their deaths. He hugged Lydia against him. It was a start, at least.

"I'm going to find a great apartment." Lydia mumbled. 

Derek laughed quietly. "Yeah, you are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left! 
> 
> Leave us some love.


	26. Ready to Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles waved and walked back into the crowd, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling, "Scott!"
> 
> "McCall!" Scott hollered back, spinning around in place until he determined the direction Stiles' voice was coming from and pushed his way through the crowd to meet him, grinning. "Get it? You said Scott, so I said McCall? Like Marco Polo?"
> 
> Stiles laughed. "You're a nerd." He grinned. "I think Jackson wants to bone me." 
> 
> Scott's smile disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title comes from The Wolfpack by Angels and Airwaves

_June 5, 2013_

Lydia smiled at the small crowd in front of her. "Thank you." She murmured into the microphone as the applause faded, lifting her hands in front of her to begin signing as she spoke. "As most of you know by now, I'm majoring in Applied Mathematics, beginning this fall. So I'm going to give you some numbers. Sixty. That's how many people are in our graduating class. Four, the number of years we've spent wandering these halls and watching Stiles and Scott spill things." She smiled as she heard laughter from the pack. "Four is also the number of years we'll spend in college, thinking of ways to make the world a better place. I've never been one for wasting my time, and I don't want to waste yours with boring platitudes like 'the future is ours,' or 'dream big.' Instead, I want to encourage you to be realistic. Go out into the world and make a difference in the lives of the people close to you. Make your best friend laugh." Lydia smiled at Allison, then glanced at Scott as she said the next words. "Encourage someone to try harder. Help them be successful. Don't let them fall under the weight of whatever they have resting on their shoulders." Her gaze drifted across the crowd, stopping at Jackson in the back row of graduates. "And any argument you have with a person doesn't have to mean you shouldn't talk to them. We're all trying to get through, and helping each other is only going to give us strength, later on." She cleared her throat, turning her head away from the microphone for a moment, to prevent everyone from hearing the noise. "I spent half of this semester unable to speak, and I didn't know what that meant for me. I was convinced that I had to create an entirely new plan for myself, to start from nothing. But a few people held me up, supported me when I wanted to give in. I wasn't allowed to be silent, they told me, because what I had to say mattered to them, even if I couldn't use my own vocal chords to do that. I learned American Sign Language. I was given drums, and one well-meaning, idiotic, _admirable_ person downloaded an air horn app onto my phone." Lydia pressed her lips together as she got tears in her eyes, not sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. "Even when I couldn't speak, everyone still wanted to listen. I encourage all of you to listen to the people around you. I won't tell you to change the world. Just change yours."

Allison was in tears following the end of the speech, and fighting the urge to run onto the stage to cling to her best friend. Instead, she wiped at her eyes carefully, and displayed the ASL sign that she had practiced for Lydia, her fingers forming an ‘L’ as the other formed a ‘G’ and moved into the sign for ‘sister’. She pressed her hands into a heart a moment later.

Scott closed his eyes, smiling at Lydia’s words and nodding along. Everything in him appreciated everything that Lydia had ever said or done, the way that she’d stood by him when she always seemed to know he was having a hard time. He chuckled to himself, even appreciating the threatening pinch of her fingers on his ears when he was being an ass. He looked up at her and blew her a kiss.

Jackson watched Lydia quietly, her words echoing in his mind, and he took a breath. He quirked a gentle smile at her, giving her a wink.

Lydia nodded to her friends, smiling as she made her way back to her seat. When she was sitting between Danny and Scott, she started to cry, laughing in embarrassment. 

Danny put his hand on Lydia’s shoulder. “That was really good.” He murmured. “Are you okay?”

Lydia wiped tears out of her eyes. “I’m fine.” 

Scott wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing the top of her head. “You did so well, Lyds.” He told her, resting his head against hers. 

“Thank you.” Lydia murmured. She watched the principal try and fail to pronounce Stiles’ first name as she called him up to the stage to give his salutatorian speech. “I hope his dad is recording this. We’re turning it into a drinking game later.” She laughed, dabbing at her eyes again. 

Scott snickered softly. “He’ll kill us.” He told her, grinning.

“No, we’ll make him do it, too.” Lydia smiled back. “He doesn’t have much of a tolerance. Get him drunk, he can’t chase us.” 

Allison turned around, snorting and peering at them. “Way to use his low tolerance against him,” she teased. She turned back around to listen to her fiance, smiling proudly up at him.

"Okay, well I guess I can try to follow that." Stiles laughed. He knew he was going to sound like he was improvising, but he and Lydia had written their speeches together as soon as they knew that Stiles would be following her during their commencement ceremony. "A year ago, I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to do after graduation. I was certain that I would be a deputy, but I didn't have plans beyond that. And then something amazing happened. I took a chance and did something I don't normally do, and I reconnected with someone. Lydia just stood up here and encouraged all of you to be realistic and fix the world around you. I'm going to do the exact opposite. I think you should take risks and focus on making sure _you’re_ happy. Be brave. Let fate guide you. Even if you end up getting lost in some Parisian diner at three o'clock in the morning." He glanced at Allison and winked, then looked back out at the crowd. "I'm not telling you to jump out of an airplane with no parachute or anything crazy. The whole world might not be yours, but part of it will be. It could look like an office building or an apartment, a classroom or a sandbox. You might not like it at first, you might find out it's not at all what you wanted or hoped it would be. But if you take a risk or two, everything will fall into place and you might even make a new friend or fall in love while you're there."

Allison felt her cheeks flush, and she beamed up at Stiles, mouthing, ‘It was a bistro!’ at him.

Stiles laughed, thanking everyone for listening before he made his way down to the seats, stopping to kiss Allison. “I’m telling you that bistro means diner. You’ll never convince me otherwise.” He grinned and walked back to his seat. 

Jackson reached across the few seats between himself and Stiles, slapping the other boy lightly on the back. “Nice job, man.” He said honestly, lifting his chin.

Stiles glanced at Jackson, then smiled. “Thanks.” 

Jackson smiled back briefly and nodded at the other boy before he turned back toward the stage. “They could sure as hell get a move on, though.” He muttered.

“Yeah.” Stiles agreed. “We already had to do the Pledge of Allegiance, too. What the hell was that about? They didn’t think we did it enough in school, every morning? One last time before we get out of here for good?” 

Jackson’s shoulders shook as he snickered quietly. “I don’t even know. I just want to hurry the fuck up and get my diploma before Cora tries to tear down here and carry me out over her shoulder or something.”

Stiles glanced toward the row where Cora was stuck sitting beside Greenberg. “Ouch.” He cringed. “Greenberg might not make it through the day if he doesn’t leave her alone.” 

Jackson faced forward, an almost evil smirk on his face. “Somehow, I don’t find myself minding that.”

Stiles laughed. “You remember when he wasn’t so hopeless?” He snorted. “I mean, middle school? When Scott was living with his dad?” 

Jackson snorted. “Yeah, I remember. But it was brief, so it wasn’t _that_ memorable.”

“His popularity lasted longer than that... thing... between you and me.” Stiles pointed out, ignoring the people between them when they tried to shush him. 

Jackson froze for a moment, then cleared his throat. “It - wasn’t that long. He likes to think it lasted that long.” He chanced a glance at Stiles. “If you want to be technical, we lasted longer.”

“Yeah, and then you...” Stiles glared at the people who were suddenly interested in the conversation. He started signing, instead. ‘Then you dated Lydia and I didn’t want to talk to you again.’ 

Jackson looked down, pursing his lips, then roughly shoved the person next to him out of the way, eyes indicating that they, and the people next to them should move and let him sit next to Stiles, or face the consequences. He waited until they’d obliged, then sat down next to Stiles, replying hesitantly with his own signs. ‘I made my mistakes. I could have done a lot of things better. It explains why Malia says a lot of you smell awkward around me, like you don’t know how you should feel about me being here. I’m sorry.’

‘We’ve all forgiven you.’ Stiles made eye contact with Jackson, needing him to know it was true. He glanced toward the front row of seats when everyone stood up and started toward the stage, but they had time before their row would have to move. ‘You didn’t do anything unforgivable, anyway.’ 

Jackson sighed. ‘I did a lot of unforgivable shit.’ He looked sullen as he signed it, but pulled the smile back onto his face properly, standing up, whistling loudly and clapping when Allison’s name was called. The brunette practically danced across the stage, beaming, and accepted her diploma before giving an adorable little bow and a hop, her pregnant belly just barely visible against her graduation gown.

“I’m marrying her.” Stiles grinned. “She’s having our daughter, too.” It had taken some time for them to actually be certain they were having a girl, since she was as stubborn as both of her parents and refused to position herself in a way to let them see that she was, in fact, a she. 

Jackson grinned faintly back at Stiles. “It’s fitting, I mean. She’s nuts, you’re nuts, you were made for each other.” He teased.

“You know, I’ve figured out something about you.” Stiles smirked. “You’ve got a serious sub thing going on. You like being told what to do.” 

“Or I just really like strong women.” Jackson shot back. He shrugged. “Never did the sub and dom thing. Not, like, to a large degree, anyway. Cora’s not usually cool with games.”

Stiles grinned. “Remember the time I told you I was going to drive your Porsche and you let me?” He remarked.

Jackson narrowed his eyes at Stiles. “Nope. I have no idea what you’re talking about, and even if I did, I’ve completely blocked the sheer lunacy of that obviously badly thought out idea from my mind.” He watched as the first row flowed back down to their seats and the second row made their way up.

“Bullshit.” Stiles muttered. “Everybody has that one person, and I’m yours, and you know what I’m talking about.” He insisted. “Because you wouldn’t even think about going there with Danny, and you’d rather rip your own face off than be with Scott. You hate Isaac for his scarf-wearing ways as much as I do.” 

Jackson sighed. “He does look like a ridiculous douche, wearing a fucking scarf in eighty degree weather.” He looked toward Isaac’s row and smirked. “Yeah, you heard me, asshat.” He looked at Stiles again. “You really want to get into all of this, like, now? Right now, right this second?” He asked.

Stiles thought for a minute. “Yeah, I do.” The third row, where Lydia was sitting with Danny, Isaac, and Scott, stood up and walked toward the stage. “I mean, why not?” 

Jackson shrugged and gestured at the others sitting in the row with them. “Well, I mean, I’ll talk about it, but I’d rather do it where these assholes aren’t pretending to not-listen, you know?”

“Okay, after this, then.” Stiles agreed. He was happy with Allison and looking forward to holding their daughter, but aggravating Jackson had always amused him. 

Jackson snorted. “Alright, after. Pain in the ass.” He muttered, shaking his head.

“You wish I was, and that’s my point.” Stiles grinned. 

Jackson turned to look at Stiles, smirking. “You’re a horrible, evil dickhead, Stilinski.”

“Sometimes, I am.” Stiles agreed. “I’ve only got a few months left to be like this. Don’t ruin it for me.” 

“You can still be an evil dickhead when you’re a dad.” Jackson told him, sounding strangely sober. “Never stopped mine.”

Stiles turned his head to look at Jackson. “You turned out okay, in spite of him.” 

Jackson’s lips twitched. “Thanks. Appreciate that.”

“Yeah, well.” Stiles shrugged. “It made you who you are, you know? It kind of sucks that I had to pick today of all days to realize I’m going to miss you.” 

Jackson shifted awkwardly, scratching at the back of his coiffed head. “It’s not like I’ll be gone forever. I’ll still be coming back to California. And I’m not leaving yet.”

“Yeah, but the rest of the summer is going to be everybody packing and moving their stuff around. Lyds and Derek are leaving for Ireland in less than two weeks.” Stiles pointed out. “Well, there’s Skype.” 

Jackson shrugged. “Better than nothing, man. Anyway, we’re all gonna drop everything and come rushing back the second Ally pops, and again when you’re at the altar. I think we’ll still see each other more than you think we will. It’s just going to take some maneuvering, is all.”

Stiles scratched his nose and smiled. “You know... yeah, nevermind. You’re right. We’ll talk more about this later.” 

Jackson snorted. “I told you later was better.” While they’d been talking, the other rows ahead of them had all gathered and trooped up to the stage, and it was now their turn. Jackson stood, nodded to Stiles with a smirk, and started to make his way up.

Stiles snorted when the other people in their row moved back into alphabetical order on their way to the stage. He took his place in the line, suddenly feeling nervous. His stomach lurched. It was stupid - the ceremony didn’t really change anything. But he felt like walking across the stage and getting his diploma was one of the big moments that Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos had been talking about. 

Scott grinned at Stiles as his friend’s row walked past, and he held two thumbs up, resisting the urge to do what he _really_ wanted to do, which was to get up, dance, yell, and vault off of his chair in excitement.

Allison crossed and then uncrossed her legs, waiting patiently as Stiles’ group trooped up the steps to the stage, watching him with her eyes twinkling in pride. She sat up a bit.

Stiles laughed in surprise when the principal finally got his first name right, even though he had never wanted anyone to hear that monstrosity. He couldn’t help asking as he shook her hand. “You asked my dad, didn’t you?” 

She nodded. “You’d be surprised what you can accomplish by asking for help.” She gave him a knowing smile. 

Stiles gave her a puzzled look, nearly tripping when his gaze stayed on her as he kept moving forward. He shook his head a little and focused on the floor in front of him as he walked across the rest of the stage, going down the other set of steps and back to his seat. 

Jackson waited patiently, his face serious as the other students walked past the principal and accepted their diplomas. He was the last one in line, the last graduate of twenty-thirteen and Beacon Hills High School, and he looked out at the crowd for a moment. He didn’t see his parents, but he couldn’t have cared less. Instead, he saw the combined rowdiness of Sheriff Stilinski, Melissa McCall, Chris Argent and Natalie Martin sitting in the stands, Derek and Malia seated on the bench below theirs and beaming back at them. He straightened up and affected a cocky smirk as his name was called, gliding toward the principal and accepting his diploma with one hand as he adjusted his tassel with the other. He winked at her. “Thanks, Miss - Principal Summers.” He murmured, smiling faintly at the older blonde woman.

Principal Summers grinned back. “You’re welcome. Oh! Congratulations.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have to do the closing thing.” She muttered, excusing herself and walking toward the podium. 

***

Stiles wandered through the crowd, looking around for Jackson. After they had been dismissed, everyone gathered on the lacrosse field, and he was pretty sure the entire town was there. He wasn’t even sure Jackson could hear him, werewolf powers and all, with the amount of noise from the crowd. 

Jackson had his arm around Cora, his graduation cap now perched at an angle on top of his head. They were surrounded by the majority of the town, but the Hales had found their way down to them, Derek having nearly immediately found Lydia and curled around her. Jackson looked up from where he’d been surreptitiously nuzzling Cora’s hair and caught Stiles’ eye, waving the other boy over.

Stiles pushed past a few people. “I took one look at this crowd and told Allison to just go home.” He murmured. “So I won’t be here long. I just didn’t want to risk her getting hurt or feeling crowded.” 

Jackson nodded. "Probably the smart thing to do. She's alright, otherwise?" He asked, turning slightly away from his girlfriend. 

Stiles smiled, understanding Jackson's concern for Allison. They had become like siblings to one another, along with Isaac - just like he and Scott had, with Lydia. "Yeah, she's fine. She's just about done with this trimester, and we're still having trouble agreeing on a name. I'm gonna go find my dad in a minute, I just want to hear your answer." He laughed. "And I'll see you guys at Derek's?"

Jackson smirked, shaking his head. "I remember, Stiles. And yeah - you'll see us at Derek's. We can talk more then."

Stiles gave Jackson a questioning look. He had just wanted to irritate him, to see if he could piss him off again. Stiles wasn't ashamed to admit that he got a little joy out of it. But Jackson seemed like he really wanted to talk, and Stiles was intrigued. "Okay, see you later, then." He waved and walked back into the crowd, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling, "Scott!"

"McCall!" Scott hollered back, spinning around in place until he determined the direction Stiles' voice was coming from and pushed his way through the crowd to meet him, grinning. "Get it? You said Scott, so I said McCall? Like Marco Polo?"

Stiles laughed. "You're a nerd." He grinned. "I think Jackson wants to bone me." 

Scott's smile disappeared. Instead of looking disgusted, which was his usual expression in regards to anything Jackson, he looked almost furious. "What? He has a _girlfriend_! And you're about to be a husband _and_ a dad! What the hell is he thinking? Freaking asshole!"

"Scott." Stiles spoke calmly, which surprised him. "If this is something he wants, and if Cora and Allison are all right with it, then it could be a thing that happens. I'm glad you're angry on my behalf, and Cora's, but it sort of started off as a joke. Just me being me, trying to see how far I could push before Jackson got annoyed. Only, he didn't."

"Oh." Scott shifted a little, still looking a little irritated, but embarrassed as well. "Well... Sorry. Okay. Sorry, man." He mumbled. "I just thought he'd - like... I don't know, come on to you or something."

"Kind of the opposite, I guess." Stiles mused. "We kissed a couple of times, in eighth grade. I was, um, trying to get him to admit today that he was interested, even just a little." He gave Scott a worried look. "I know it sounds bad. No, it probably is bad. Are you angry with me for it?" He knew how Scott felt about cheating, in any form. Stiles didn't think that asking a simple question necessarily qualified, but his reaction to Jackson's evasive maneuvers was starting to trouble him. 

Scott pressed his lips together tightly. "I can't say anything if Allison and Cora end up okay with it, but right now, no, I guess not. It's not like you kissed him today." He narrowed his eyes. "You didn't, did you?" He asked, sounding disapproving.

"Dude, no. I'd never cheat on anyone, barring Furies being stupid." Stiles muttered. "Why would you even ask me that?"

Scott promptly looked apologetic, grimacing. "Sorry. I don't actually think you would. I'm not sure about Jackson, honestly. Part of me is still annoyed at how all over Allison he was in sophomore year." He sighed. "I know, I know, you don't need to tell me, he's changed, he's different, but I still think he's a dick." He shuffled his feet. "I don't know. It's not really my business in the end, it's yours and Jackson's and Ally's and Cora's. My job as Alpha is just to make sure that my pack is happy and functioning. Are you happy and functioning, Stiles?"

Stiles laughed. "I'm good. How about you?" He put an arm around Scott's shoulders. "Have you seen my dad?"

Scott grinned. "I think he's talking to my mom and the others. Every once in a while, I keep hearing his voice get all gushy and happy, and then he goes, 'Well, _my kid_ is gonna be the best damn deputy this side of...' And then he says something like 'The Eiffel Tower' or 'The Golden Gate Bridge' or something." He laughed softly. "It's kind of cute. My mom keeps goading him on, like, 'Well what about Boston? I hear they have pretty good cops there.' And he goes, 'Stiles'll be better!' And she starts laughing."

"You know what this means." Stiles smiled and rubbed his hands together. "It's finally happening."

Scott stopped, looking at Stiles for a moment before realization dawned on him. “The thing? You mean the thing, with them, and really? You think so?”

“I do think so.” Stiles nodded. “When you move in with Malia, and I’m living with Allison, they’ll probably stop feeling so awkward.” 

“How much do you wanna bet they’re going to take, like, six months to tell us that something’s going on between them?” Scott asked, his eyes glinting in delight.

“Five.” Stiles countered, laughing. “They’ll be each other’s date to the wedding.” 

A high-pitched chirp escaped Scott’s throat, and he practically bounced in excitement. “I can see it!”

“You know, the only real drawback here is that if they get married, our kids are gonna be actual cousins.” Stiles mused. “And that’s a drawback because they can’t have kids together, then. When they’re old enough.” 

“Dude.” Scott put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “Your kid’s not even born yet. My kids aren’t even a blip on the radar yet. If our future kids can’t grow up and get married, I’d rather they be family, you know?”

Stiles nodded, smiling. He stood up straight. “Oh god. Okay, I have to... uh, hold on.” He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and called Allison. 

Allison answered a few beats later. “Hi, honey.” She answered. “What’s going on?”

“Rose.” Stiles blurted. “I feel dumb that I just now thought of it, but _La Vie En Rose_ was playing in the airport when I came to see you, and it’s been in my head all day, and we thought we had a daughter who could time travel.” 

“Rose.” Allison repeated, her voice soft. A small smile trembled at her lips. “We could definitely name her Rose. That’s… yes. I love it.”

Stiles fist-pumped, closing his eyes as he smiled. “Good.” He murmured. “Thank you. I love you.” 

Allison giggled. “You don’t need to thank me. I love you, too, baby.”

“I’ll be home soon.” Stiles grinned. “Scott and I think our parents are finally dating. I don’t want to make my dad leave just yet.” 

“Aww!” Allison laughed. “Well, take as much time as you need. I’m going to try for a nap, and maybe Rose can stop trying to convince me to eat the Rocky Road we’ve got in the freezer.”

Stiles nodded, even though Allison couldn’t see him, because he was starting to feel overwhelmed. “Uh, yeah. I say eat the ice cream.” He laughed. “I love you.” He hung up, glancing at Scott as he started to grin again. “We’re naming her Rose.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Scott laughed. “I heard. I’m calling her Rosie, and you can’t stop me.”

“I wouldn’t even think of it.” Stiles laughed. “Now if we can just figure out a middle name that sounds good with Rose, we’ll be all set.” 

Scott made a face. “Don’t look at me, man. I’m not good coming up with names and shit.”

“I didn’t mean you.” Stiles teased. “You’d wanna name her after one of your favorite animals at the clinic. Hey, you and Malia should get a puppy.” 

“I’ll bring it up with her, but I’m honestly a little worried she might get into a fight with the little guy.” Scott sighed. “She wasn’t really keen on working at the clinic, anyway.”

“I thought she - oh. She was doing it because you were.” Stiles laughed. “That’s cute.” 

“She was not -” Scott rolled his eyes. “Nah, she totally was, I can’t even pretend I think otherwise.”

“I don’t know that she’d fight with an animal, though.” Stiles mused. “I mean, she was one for a while, so...” 

Scott groaned. “She snarled at one of the Shepherds the other day. I think she was trying to make Duggar submit, and he just kept snarling back at her.”

“Okay, so no puppies for you guys.” Stiles murmured. He put his hand on Scott’s shoulder. “So, guess what?” 

Scott looked up at him curiously. “What?”

“Remember how, before you ever got attacked by Re-Peter, we thought we weren’t going to make it through high school? And then people started actively trying to kill us? We survived.” Stiles nodded. “We’re done.” 

Scott smiled slowly. “We made it. Holy shit.”

“Yeah, and you know what else?” Stiles beamed. “Now you can go back to being a nerd, once again. You get to start over.” 

Scott snorted. “Yeah, dude, being the cool guy was freaking exhausting. I’d rather play video games and watch _The Avengers_ fifty times in a weekend with you.”

“Hey!” Stiles protested. “I was cool until you came back here. I sacrificed my awesome to be your BFF.” 

“You’re so full of shit,” Scott snorted, laughing. “Your ‘awesome’ _is_ the nerdy stuff, bro. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“That’s not entirely accurate.” Stiles muttered, shrugging. “You weren’t here. You don’t know.” He thought back to the day he met Jackson, the way the two of them had become best friends almost instantly, like they were life preservers for each other. Those two years were the strangest part of his life, even compared to finding out that werewolves were real. 

Scott grimaced, his hands playing with the sleeves of his graduation gown. “Okay, so… you were different, but… You’re better now, right?”

“I don’t think I was ever... worse.” Stiles mused. “I think we’ve all been progressively getting better. I think that’s kind of the point, right?” 

“Yeah.” Scott murmured, and let out a sigh. “Yeah, it is. At least, I’d like to think I am.” He nudged his shoulder against Stiles’ and smiled.

“Is this the part where I’m supposed to tell you how great you are?” Stiles scoffed, grinning. “I’m not gonna do that.” 

“Asshole. I’m the best friend you’ve ever had, and you know it.” Scott laughed.

“I’ll admit that when you admit that I’m the best friend _you_ ever had.” Stiles retorted. 

Scott stopped and with the utmost sincerity, he put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder and said, simply, “You are. And you’ll be an even better brother.”

Stiles grinned. “So will you. I’m definitely looking forward to the next few years.” 

Scott nodded in agreement, grinning back. “I think they’re gonna be good ones.”

“We’ll never find out if we don’t get out of here.” Stiles pointed out. “Go get your mom and tell my dad I’m going to leave without him if he doesn’t hurry up.” 

Scott snorted but did as Stiles said, rounding up their parents and doing his best not to let out a crow of delight at the shy looks they kept exchanging with each other. “You know, sometimes I really do wonder who the actual Alpha here is,” he called to Stiles.

Stiles turned around and shrugged at Scott. “I’m just trying to get in practice for being a dad. It’s not like I’d ever surpass Lydia, anyway.” He grinned. 

“My ear pretty much bears a permanent pinch mark from her fingers.” Scott laughed.

“I’ll see you at Derek’s?” Stiles asked. “I have to go home and get Allison and try to think of middle names, but we’ll be over there eventually.” 

“Yeah, man. I’ll see you there.” He grinned and gave Stiles a hug. He moved to his mother’s side, laughing when she wrapped an arm around him and pressed a kiss to his head. “Let’s go, Mom.”

Melissa hugged him to her. “I’m so proud of you, honey.” She moved to hug Stiles as well, kissing the top of his head. “I’m proud of you, too, Stiles.” She eyed John for a moment, then ducked her head, grinning to herself as she moved toward her car.

John blinked, smiling as well, then looked at his son before lunging at him, catching him in a hug and pressing a loud kiss to his forehead. “My kid, salutatorian, graduate, future deputy, future husband, future dad. You’re gonna shine, son. I can’t wait to see it.”

Stiles smiled, but he rolled his eyes. “Dad, Lydia and I worked really hard to keep cheesy platitudes out of everything, today. You just ruined it. I hope you’re happy.” 

John laughed. “I’m thrilled. For more than one reason, and you’re gonna like it.” He kept his arm around Stiles’ shoulder, hugging the boy against him as he started toward the Jeep. “What are you planning for the rest of the day? Did I hear you say something about coming up with middle names?”

“Yeah. We’re naming her Rose.” Stiles murmured. “I can’t think of anything that sounds good with that, though. As a middle name.” 

John furrowed his brow, thinking. “Only thing I can think of is Marie, but there’s probably a million Rose Maries in this country. Where did you get Rose from? Maybe you can get a second name from the same source.” He glanced at his son. “If all else fails and nothing sounds good with Rose as a first name, use it as a middle name and test other first names with it. The baby might be legally named whatever you choose for the first slot, but it doesn’t mean you can’t still call her Rose.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, if anybody knows that, it’s me.” He agreed, getting into the Jeep. “I’ve got three months to save up for a different car and say goodbye to this one. It’s going so fast.” He glanced over at his dad as he fastened his seatbelt. 

John smiled softly and patted the dashboard of the Jeep. “She’s a good car, and she’s kept you safe this long.” He sighed, fastening his own seatbelt. “I don’t want to say it’s a good idea to keep it, because the fact is, you’re right and it’s probably not safe to have it as a family car for Allison and Rose. But your mom kept it after we had you - she just drove the Kia while you were a munchkin, and took the Jeep on the days where I had you, or when you were with a babysitter.” He scratched his head. “We could keep it in the garage.” He suggested.

Stiles glanced over at his dad, then sighed and pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road. “Nope. Dad, take off your ring and hand it over.” 

John blinked at Stiles in confusion, but frowned and carefully slid his wedding ring off of his finger, placing it in Stiles’ hand. “Okay?”

Stiles shifted his weight onto one hip as he put the ring into his pocket. “We’re not healthy. I can make you eat salads for the rest of your life, but that’s not what I’m talking about, and it’s not doing us any good, hanging onto Mom’s stuff like it’s got anything to do with her. No more ring for you, no more Jeep for me. This is what moving forward looks like.” He paused, feeling a little uncertain, wondering if he was doing the right thing. “Do you need a minute?” 

John stared at Stiles for a long moment, and then shook his head, huffing out a laugh. “Christ. I watched you turn eighteen, I watched you graduate, listened when you told me that you and your girlfriend were starting a family, and I still missed you growing up, right in front of me.” He took a deep breath, and then squared his shoulders and nodded. “You’re right.” His hand ran over the Jeep’s dash again. “She loved this old thing, but it doesn’t mean she’d have wanted either of us to keep it as long as we have. And let’s be honest, she’d probably have torn my ring off of my hand and thrown it at my head if she found out I was still wearing it for this long.”

“Well, now you’re not.” Stiles said gently. He took a deep breath and pulled back out onto the road. He wanted - but didn’t want - to talk about what they had just done. “I’m serious about you eating salads, though.” He muttered. “And I let you have a free pass before, when we thought Chloe was our daughter, but I don’t think Allison and I are going to let Rose tell you that you can eat whatever you want for breakfast. No Cookie Crisp for you.” 

John rolled his eyes. “Like I’d be insane enough to actually eat cookies for breakfast, jesus christ, Stiles. Cereal used to be healthy, you know?” He was silent for a beat, trying to keep his mind from thinking about the forcible letting-go that he and Stiles had just done. The truth was, he was always going to love Renee, he would always miss her, but she would be horrified if she could see what her absence had caused in him, and he’d be plenty ashamed of himself if she could see him now. Letting go of his wife didn’t mean forgetting about her. She’d been the most remarkable woman he had ever known - there _was_ no forgetting about her. But, like Stiles had said, there _was_ moving forward. And John thought he might finally be ready to do that. “Can I have grilled chicken with the salad, at least? Some sort of meat?”

“Grilled chicken is fine, but don’t you dare ask for bacon.” Stiles pulled into the driveway and got out, letting himself into the house. He glanced over his shoulder at his dad, then went upstairs to put the wedding ring away in the box he had received with Allison’s engagement ring. 

“What about that fake bacon crap that you tried to sneak me in that BLT the one time?” John called after him. “The veggie bacon, or whatever the hell it was?”

“Maybe!” Stiles called out, glancing over at Allison. “Hey, you.” 

Allison stretched out sleepily on the bed and smiled up at Stiles. “Hi, handsome.” She murmured, and reached her arms out for him. “C’mere, baby.”

Stiles smiled and laid down, kissing Allison. “Hey, Rose.” He rubbed Allison’s stomach, resting his hand there. “Scott has already decided he’s calling her Rosie and we can’t stop him.” 

Allison threw her head back and laughed, putting her hand on top of Stiles’ and resting it there. “Of course he has.” She sighed happily. “Now we just need another name for her.”

“I was kind of thinking we could stick with the theme and name her after more than one sci-fi character, maybe even more than one person from Doctor Who.” Stiles suggested. He laughed when Rose kicked his hand. "I think Jackson's interested in doing something with me." He had already explained the complicated friendship he'd had with Jackson, during one of the nights he and Allison stayed awake, talking. "I was trying to piss him off because he's Jackson. It's what I do. I told him to admit that I'm the only guy in the pack he'd want to have sex with, and instead of arguing or deflecting, he said we'd talk about it later. He's probably going to try to embarrass me or something. I don't know."

Allison looked quiet and thoughtful, her finger tracing shapes all over Stiles' hand. "Jackson's not really like that anymore," she said softly. "He - I mean, he'll still play pranks if he thinks you deserve it, but if he didn't answer you outright and said that you'd talk... Stiles, you know Jackson never wants to have talks. He'd avoid them with ten foot poles if he could, or with flame throwers." She closed her eyes, smiling a little as Rose steadily kicked at her palm, like she was reassuring her mother of her presence. She took a deep, uncertain breath and said, "If Jackson is interested in you, then... Well, it explains a lot, at least, like why he was so hard on you sophomore year." She tilted her head, her eyes going distant. "Rose Susan? Barbara Rose? Rose Marion? Amy Rose - no, wait, that's a Sonic the Hedgehog character." She frowned, then blinked a little. "Clara?"

"Clara Rose Stilinski." Stiles murmured. "I really like that." He kissed Allison. "So, what would this mean, then? He's going to Pittsburgh in a few months, so even if - did the two of you talk about this already? You're calmer than I would have been."

"We didn't talk about it." Allison mumbled. "And I'm calm because just because he says - or hasn't said - that he'd be willing to do, well... you, it doesn't mean he'd act on it. Without permission, anyway. He's got Cora to think about, and let's be honest - if she thought for an instant that he wanted to hop ship for a minute, she'd either string him up by his balls upside down, or demand to watch in person with a video camera." She looked up at him. "Basically, it doesn't have to mean anything, but if it does mean something, it - well, I guess it could mean that I'm secure enough in my relationship with you and my love for you that I know this would be a one off thing. More importantly, if you think this could make you happy, then what sort of girlfriend would I be to forbid you from doing it?" 

"I'm not unhappy, though." Stiles explained. "I love you and I don't want any kind of resentment there. Uh, it's just - when I had this conversation with Scott, I was feeling one way about it, but now I kind of get what he was saying." He moved around a little, taking off his shoes. "He was kind of outraged that Jackson might want me, since he has Cora, and I'm marrying you and we've got Rose." He smiled. "And I said what you said to me, you know? But now I'm trying to understand why this has become a big deal, in my head."

Allison ran her hand along his cheek, smiling at him. "Maybe because Jackson was your first real... first." She suggested. "Rose and I aren't going anywhere. We're going to be here for you, always, no matter what. But there's always going to be a place for firsts that weren't me, and Jackson's got that over me."

"Yeah, but if Scott asked you for something like this, I'd be furious." Stiles pointed out. "We're just... we don't know what he wants yet. Let's go to the party. We'll find out soon enough."

Allison flopped back on the bed gracelessly. "Can we be fashionably late?" She pleaded. "I just want to sleep with you for a little while longer before Rose and I have to share you with the others."

Stiles nodded, putting his hand back on Allison’s stomach. “I made my dad take off his wedding ring on the way back here.” He mumbled. “He was talking about how we can keep the Jeep, but like, put it in storage. And I realized that I’ve been letting him hold onto my mom for too long. She’s not here. Melissa is, and I think they could be happy together if they gave it a shot.”

Allison touched his face gently. "How did he take it? How did _you_ take it?" She asked softly, already crowding into his space to hold him. "Melissa? Scott's mother? You saw something between them?"

“I told you I did.” Stiles murmured, smiling. “They’ve kind of been circling each other for years, and Scott and I are hoping that moving away, even if it is just a ten minute drive, will make it easier on them.” 

“I meant, did you actually see them flirting with each other?” Allison laughed. “Like, today.” She pressed a kiss to Stiles’ lips. “That sounds like a good idea to me. Your dad and Scott’s mom deserve to be happy.” She poked Stiles’ stomach playfully. “Maybe you and Scott might end up with another little McCall-Stilinski in the future.”

“That would be interesting.” Stiles laughed. “Okay, I promise we can take a nap later. We need to go.” He sat up and held his hands out to her. “Come on.” 

“Boo,” Allison pouted, but grabbed Stiles’ hands and heaved herself off of the bed. At least she could still move, at this point. She was a little terrified to see what her small body would have to withstand by the time she was into her ninth month. Her father had told her that even as broad shouldered and steady as her mother had seemed, she’d been put on bed rest by the time she had reached her seventh month with Allison. That had been repeated when she’d been carrying Malia. She lifted her head to kiss Stiles again and looped her arm through his. “Okay. Let’s go.”

***

Lydia smiled as she opened the door for Allison and Stiles. “And where the hell have you two been?” Her eyebrow raised as she stared at them. “You’re late.” 

“We’ve known that since January.” Stiles laughed. “Allison only has three months left.” 

Allison snorted, giggling into Stiles’ shoulder. “I was trying to convince him to take a nap with me so we could be fashionably late.” She darted forward and hugged Lydia as best as she could, trying to maneuver her tummy out of the way. “I’m so proud of you both. Those speeches were amazing.”

“Thank you.” Lydia put her arms around Allison. “I heard that you decided on a name.” She led her friend away to talk. 

Allison nodded delightedly, tipping her head to rest against Lydia’s. “We’re going to call her Rose, but her full name will be Clara Rose Stilinski.” She smiled. “Scott wants to call her Rosie.”

Lydia laughed. “That sounds like Scott. I was starting to worry that the two of you might never agree on a name and we’d have to resort to calling her ‘hey, you.’” 

“Honestly, I was starting to worry about it, too.” Allison grinned. “My dad told me about a girl he met at the grocery store. Her name tag said ‘Howdy,’ and he stopped and asked her if it was a nickname, and she told him, no, that was her real name.” She shuddered. “Promise me that if Stiles and I ever have moments of stupid with our future kids, you will kick sense into us before we _ever_ think that naming our baby ‘Howdy’ is a good idea.”

“Believe me, I will.” Lydia nodded.

“You’re the best.” Allison told her, and completely unprompted, her lower lip wobbled. She sniffed. “I’m gonna miss you so much this summer. And in the fall. And the winter.”

“No, you’ll get sick of me.” Lydia shrugged. “You’ll have Rose around to keep you busy, and college classes. I’m your maid of honor, you know I’m not missing your wedding. And then I’ll be back for Christmas. It’ll go fast.” 

“Don’t undermine me, missy.” Allison shot back, her hand flying up between them as she waggled her finger at Lydia. “I’m going to miss you, and that’s final.” She nodded shortly, then sniffed again. “Dammit. If you don’t take lots of pictures in Ireland and at Columbia, I will confiscate all of your pretty things the second you come back to Beacon Hills.” She threatened, and hugged Lydia tightly again.

Lydia smiled as she hugged Allison a second time. “I’m still here until after Jackson turns eighteen. It’s a big deal birthday.” 

Allison wiped at her eyes, resting her head on Lydia’s shoulder. “He’s gonna milk it,” she whined softly. “I know he is, he’s going to make things absolutely ridiculous.” She laughed.

“Yeah, most likely.” Lydia agreed. “But he was here for mine, it’s only fair.” She mused. “Besides, if I missed it, he’d just whine at me until he turned twenty-one.” 

“Oh, he absolutely would.” Allison snorted again, and finally pulled back, feeling like she was finally steady enough to stop clinging to Lydia like a limpet.

Stiles brought Allison a bottle of water, then walked over to Jackson. “Okay, talk.” He muttered, feeling impatient. 

Jackson folded his arms across his chest, frowning. “Well, maybe I don’t want to now. What the hell’s got your boxers jammed up your ass?”

“Fine, forget it. Haha, good joke.” Stiles retorted, walking back into the kitchen to get himself something to drink. 

Jackson grit his teeth together, stomping into the kitchen after him and nudging the other boy sharply in the back. “What the fuck is your problem, Stilinski? Are you that fucking put off by the idea that I maybe might have wanted to do shit with you once upon a time? Is it fucking inconvenient for you now? Sorry for taking up your precious fucking time, I didn’t mean to aggravate you with the pointless feelings I had. Fucking dickhead.” He resisted the urge to punch Stiles in the arm, but he was definitely feeling the need to hit things. “You’re the one that pushed. I said we’d fucking talk, and now you’re the one acting like you’d rather be doing anything else. If you want to forget all about this, fucking consider it forgotten. I never should have opened my damn mouth.”

“Oh my god.” Stiles blurted. “No. I don’t want to just forget about it. I’ve been driving Scott and Allison nuts since you said we’d talk later. It’s later. Can we talk now?” 

“Jesus fucking christ, yes, asshat.” Jackson snapped at him in disbelief. “I was ready and willing to talk before until you - until the - why the fuck were you acting like that?”

“Because I don’t want to talk.” Stiles blurted. “Wait, no. I mean, if you’re... if this is what I think it is, we’ll talk about it, but actually doing things sounds more - god, I’m probably getting it all wrong right now.” 

Jackson stared at Stiles for a long moment, then shook his head, bringing his hands up to his face and rubbing at his temples idly. “You exhaust me just by looking at you, man.” He confessed, squinting at the other boy. “So you’re saying you want to? Because if that’s a yes, I need to talk to Cora before she tears my ass off and hands it to me.”

“Yeah. It’s a yes. And I already cleared it with Allison.” Stiles nodded. 

Jackson nodded. “Alright. Okay. That’s - this is, uh.” He cleared his throat, suddenly looking very unlike himself as his nervousness crossed his face. “How far are we going to, uh - and this is just a one-time thing?”

“I think it’s a one-time thing.” Stiles murmured. “And we’ll go as far as you want. I mean, the Furies, you know. I was with Derek.” 

“Right.” Jackson gestured, nodding. “And me, with Lydia. McCall and Allison.” He took a deep breath. “Alright, then. I’m gonna go talk to Cora.”

“I meant... I meant that I’ve done things.” Stiles explained, feeling awkward. “But yeah, go. I’ll be... here.” He grimaced, hating that he sounded like an idiot. 

Jackson paused, looking amused. “I know what you meant, dumbass. I meant…” He gestured again, then scratched his head. “Me, too.” He shook his head again. “I’ll be right back, man.” He started off to find Cora.

Stiles stared after Jackson, feeling a little confused until something occurred to him. He turned, looking around for Lydia. 

Lydia rolled her eyes and approached him. “What are you staring at me for?” 

“Nothing.” Stiles shrugged. “It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” 

Derek came up behind Lydia, wrapping an arm around her waist briefly to draw her into a kiss. He handed her a drink and smirked faintly at Stiles. “It’s a fantastic night,” he replied quietly.

“It is.” Lydia agreed. “Stiles, what the hell are you talking about?” 

“Nothing.” Stiles repeated. “I’m just starting to figure out that I’m really, really lucky.” He grinned and walked away. 

Derek peered down at Lydia curiously. “What was that about?” He asked, his forehead creasing.

“I don’t have any idea.” Lydia murmured, frowning. “I think he might be drunk.” 

Derek shook his head. “He must have started before he and Allison even got here, then.”

“Well, no. He drove.” Lydia said quickly, feeling a little guilty. She had a pretty good idea of what Jackson and Stiles’ conversation had been about, judging by their body language, and the way Stiles looked at her afterward told her all she needed to know. 

“Okay.” Derek paused for a moment, then grinned faintly and lifted Lydia over his shoulder. “Private time. They won’t miss us for a minute.” He carried her toward the stairs.

Stiles was mid-conversation with Scott when he heard the elevator. He glanced around, counting the pack members in the apartment. Everyone had already arrived, so he gestured for Scott to follow him. 

Scott frowned, following after Stiles as he crept toward the elevator. He drew himself up quickly, his claws already beginning to slide out. “I swear to god, if the Furies found a way around the wards…” He muttered.

“I think if they had, we’d all be with the wrong people again.” Stiles muttered. “Like we’re puppets. I hate them so much.” 

The elevator doors opened, and a tiny brunette practically tackled Stiles. “Hi!” 

Stiles laughed, looking down at Clotho. “This again?” 

Allison’s head jerked up, and she was beside Stiles in an instant. “Chlo - Clotho!” She squealed in delight, reaching for her immediately.

Clotho giggled. “Hi, Allison. We wanted to congratulate you guys on graduating, and we have gifts for you.” 

Allison hugged her. “You’ve already given us a really important gift.” She said, and pulled back to pat her belly, grinning.

Lachesis followed her sister inside, smiling. “That was a gift from Clotho alone. It is, after all, her duty to choose when a person shall be born.” She smiled down at her sister’s toddler form. “This gift is from the three of us. We’ve wronged you in the past, but we have done our utmost to fix things, and we hope that you will forgive us, if you have not already.”

“What gifts, then?” Stiles nodded to Atropos, gesturing for her to go in ahead of him before he pulled the door shut. 

“Wishes.” Atropos smiled. “No wishing to bring anyone back from the dead or killing them, but we’ll give each of you something, as best as we can.” 

“Just the graduates, right?” Malia looked nervous. “Because I don’t want anything.” 

“Just them, yes.” Atropos agreed. 

Scott wrapped his arm around Malia, kissing her cheek softly. He took a deep breath. “I honestly don’t know what I’d even want,” he admitted. He hesitated, looking embarrassed. “Can I get a rain check?”

“It doesn’t have to be anything fantastic.” Atropos murmured, sitting down on the couch and looking up at Scott. “You could ask for a little extra study time for an exam, or an opportunity to meet someone new. Any sort of circumstance, we can try to arrange it. But we won’t tell you when to expect it, just know that it came from us.” 

Scott looked down at Malia for a long moment, thinking over Atropos’ words before he drew a deep breath and said, “I’d like it if Malia’s business succeeds, in whatever she chooses to do with it.” He said softly.

Lachesis watched him carefully as she sat down on the arm of the chair beside Atropos. “Your wish is for your mate, instead of yourself?”

“Did you forget who we’re dealing with?” Clotho giggled. “I think it sounds like a good idea.” 

Scott smiled down at her, hugging Malia closer. “Thanks.” He murmured, unsure of how else to respond, and blushing a little.

“I want to use my wish on my dad and Scott’s mom.” Stiles blurted. “I don’t want them to be manipulated, but we think they’re already heading for a relationship with each other. I just want them to have a reminder or two that the idea of them together isn’t terrible. They’ve been on their own for a long time, and they both deserve to be happy. It’s still sort of self-serving because it would mean Scott and I would actually be brothers if our parents got married, but that’s not our main focus.” 

Scott laughed quietly. “My mom’s been lonely for a long time, and my real dad is an ass. I’ve always thought Mr. Stilinski was a good guy, and there were times where I was jealous of Stiles because of that.” He looked at Stiles. “I hope you see my mom the same way. I know no one could ever replace your mom, and I would never want anyone to try, but I hope my mom could be a decent stand-in, at least.”

Lachesis’ eyes gleamed as she smiled at them. “Those are both lovely sentiments.” She told them warmly.

“All right.” Atropos nodded. “So that leaves Lydia, Isaac, Cora, Danny, Jackson and Allison.” She glanced around the room as she spoke. “I was wondering when you’d start coming to these meetings.” She told Danny. “But it’s not up to me.” She gestured toward Lachesis. 

Lachesis held her hands in front of her for a moment, smiling gently at Danny. “You have always known, and your fate has always been entwined with this pack. What wish do you seek? What would you ask of us?”

“I’m not sure.” Danny admitted. “I think I just want - I’m trying to be careful how I phrase this. No offense, but this sounds really good, and that’s never turned out well. Okay. I want a good job this summer, before I go to college.” 

Lachesis nodded at him. “Intelligent that you would choose to word your wish in a specific manner. We understand your suspicions, but you really have nothing to fear from us.” She smiled at him kindly before directing her gaze to the rest of the group, her eyes settling on Jackson.

Jackson looked startled, glancing around before exhaling. “Alright, yeah, I guess I can go next.” He scratched at his head, looking down. He wasn’t sure quite what to say, and wasn’t exactly comfortable with saying anything out loud. “If I have to make a wish, do I absolutely have to say it out loud, or can I just, like, think it? Or can I tell you later?” He asked hopefully.

“You can think it.” Clotho grinned. 

Jackson let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “Okay.” Almost immediately, the wish ran rampant through his mind, repeating itself several times over like an echo. _’Please don’t let me screw things up. Please let us all stay who we are; don’t let me do something stupid to change them. Don’t let me ruin Stiles and Allison, don’t let me ruin Cora, don’t let me don’t let me don’t let me, please please please…’_

“Everything will be all right.” Clotho climbed down from the couch and walked over to Jackson, hugging him. 

“I want to find a good job, too.” Cora smiled over at Danny, then looked back at the Fates. “Only I want mine after I move to Pittsburgh, with Jackson.” 

Jackson, hugging Clotho back and breathing steadily, looked up at his girlfriend and smiled at her.

Allison looked back at Stiles for a moment, then stared down at her belly before looking at Clotho. “My wish… My wish is for my family to be happy and healthy, always. And I don’t just mean myself, and Stiles, and Rose, or myself and my father and Malia. I mean everyone here, everyone we consider family now, every child that we have in the future, everyone that ever joins us and becomes our family, wherever we go, whether it’s around the world, or an hour away. You literally gave all of us another chance at life, and I swear to you that we aren’t going to waste it.”

Isaac snorted. “Allison, that’s a little too much, don't you think?” 

Atropos smiled gently. “Unfortunately, he’s right. We can’t guarantee everything you just asked for, but we can give you the rest of the year, for everyone already in your pack, and that includes your parents.” 

Allison, who’d been glaring at Isaac and attempting to kick him despite the fact that he was more than five feet away, looked back at Atropos and sighed resignedly. “I guess that will have to be enough.” She murmured, looking at Stiles before she slumped against him. “I just want everyone to be okay.”

“We all want that, but we can’t have everyone we’ve ever met be happy and healthy all the time.” Isaac muttered. “It doesn’t work that way.” 

Allison grimaced, but rolled her eyes at Isaac. “Way to be pessimistic, Curly.” She muttered.

“What do you want, Isaac?” Lydia smiled to encourage him. “I haven’t heard anything about your plans for college or whatever it is you’re planning.” 

“I’m staying here.” Isaac shrugged one shoulder. “The cemetery still needs a gravedigger, and I got pretty good at that, so I’ll just go back to it and figure out what I’m doing, after that.” He studied the Fates. “And I don’t want anything.” 

“In that case...” Lydia took a deep breath. “I want Isaac to find inner peace somehow. I don’t need anything for myself. I’ve survived attempts on my life and I made it through not having a voice. I can handle whatever life wants to throw at me.” 

Lachesis gazed around at them all. “You are all such a remarkable group of people.” She told them quietly. “We are honored to work with your pack.” She looked at Scott. “Anytime you have need of us, Alpha.” She told him.

“We actually have something else to discuss with you.” Atropos admitted, just as the elevator gears started grinding again. “Right on time. Naturally.” 

Allison frowned and stared at the elevator before she looked at Derek. “The proximity alarm didn’t go off… so that’s got to be okay, right?”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “If the Fates don’t see any reason to worry, then I don’t see any reason why we should.” He offered, shrugging a shoulder.

“We didn’t tell you not to worry.” Clotho mumbled as someone knocked on the door to Derek’s apartment. 

Derek stared at her for a moment, and then sighed. “Great.” He mumbled.

Lydia opened the door, staring coldly at Deaton. “Why are you here? You only ever have bad news for us.” 

“Well, I won’t be giving you any false hope today, I’m afraid.” Deaton nodded to her as he walked into the apartment. “The Furies contacted me and they’re giving you five years before they demand justice for the way you warded them from coming here.” 

Lydia lifted her chin as she stared at the veterinarian - or whatever he was. “And you neglected to mention that you set up the wards, didn’t you?” 

“You won’t have to worry about that.” Deaton smiled patiently. “When the five years draws to a close, Scott will take over for me and I’ll move somewhere else. I’d like to... retire.” 

Scott narrowed his eyes at Deaton. “You want to what?” He blinked. “Is that - is that possible?”

“Not the point, McCall.” Jackson growled. “What exactly do we not have to worry about? If they think _we_ warded them when it was really you, how exactly does you taking off five years from now make everything better for us? They’re still gonna think it was us.”

“We’ll point them in the right direction.” Atropos stood up. “Or we could take care of you being a problem, if you step out of line again, Alaunus.” 

“Oh god.” Lydia took a step backward, away from Deaton as she stared at him. “I know who you are. I know what he was trying to do to you, that day.” 

“Lydia?” Stiles motioned for Allison to move back. 

“Cyrus Valack showed me a vision last year.” Lydia explained. “He was involved in Anna Hale’s rebellion. He was a seer for her pack. Anna’s grandmother and Alaunus - Deaton - split the town in half, and each one of them kept half as their territory. They left the woods to the Fates, Anna’s pack, and... and the Nemeton, as we know her. Cyrus put Deaton in bardo to protect us and make sure we didn’t make the same mistakes that Anna and her pack made.” 

Scott looked worried. “Mistakes like what? Were we that close to wrecking the town?” He turned to look at Deaton, trying not to look betrayed. “What’s your endgame here? Wh-what are you playing at? You were part of the Hales’ pack, weren’t you?” He fidgeted. “I don’t understand this. At all.”

“I agreed to be Talia’s emissary for a very simple reason.” Deaton murmured. “Even though I knew better. But that’s not the matter at hand, currently. I suspected that you would become a true alpha the moment I knew you had been bitten by Peter. I’ve been doing my best to assist you when you’ve asked for it, and only when you’ve asked, so that I don’t interfere with what these three are trying to do.” He glanced toward the Fates before glancing back at Scott. “But I did overstep my boundaries and that’s why I’m going to be leaving as soon as you’re ready to take over the clinic.” 

“They ran to the woods.” Lydia interrupted, tilting her head like she was listening to something in another part of the building. “They wanted to be safer there, but Gwydion never should have left his captive behind, the way he did. Valack just wants us to be stronger and not run away when things get tough. That’s not what we’re doing, though. And the whole problem, really...” She cleared her throat. “The problem is that we’re facing the same situation every generation before us has faced. The people in the generation just before ours think they know better than we do, when they don’t know anything.” She looked over at Scott. “But see, they’ve got maybe twenty or so years between them. We’ve got a hundred between us and the earlier generation. The last true alpha.” 

Scott straightened instinctively at Lydia’s words, a part of him acknowledging the title and reacting to it, even as his mind raced. 

Allison reached up, wrapping her hand around Stiles’ hand, frowning. “When you said you overstepped your boundaries - do you mean the ritual you had us do, or are you talking about every time you helped us - helped Scott - try to solve the problems here? Because I’m still of the opinion that the Fates wouldn’t have needed to resurrect us if it wasn’t for the drowning thing you had us do.”

“He’s not going to answer.” Stiles shook his head. “Deaton, you should just go. You aren’t part of our pack. You haven’t ever been, really. Scott might’ve seen you as a father at some point, but he really doesn’t need to anymore. Not that he ever did, but it happened. In five years, you can leave if Scott says you can go. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Basically.” 

Cora stepped past Jackson, past Isaac and Scott, until she stood next to her brother, her eyes narrowed nearly into slits at the sight of the vet. “Our mother trusted you to protect us. I remember _hearing you promise her_ that you would. That you’d always keep me and Laura and Derek safe. And you couldn’t even do that. You couldn’t keep Laura safe when Peter killed her, you couldn’t keep Derek safe from Peter, or from the Alpha pack, or from that bitch darach, and you sure as _hell_ didn’t protect me when my entire family disappeared. You just watched while Peter went comatose, and when Laura and Derek ran, and you sent me to fucking _South America_ because - what, I’d be safer there? Or out of the way? With no more Hales in the Beacon Hills territory, your job must’ve been pretty easy, right? No Hale Alpha in the vicinity, no Hale pack to answer to, just my mother and father dead in the ground, and my only surviving siblings on the other side of the country and not even aware that I was still alive at all. Everything you ever said to my mother - you betrayed her. You betrayed her, and Derek, and not even just them, you betrayed the entire Hale line right back to Anna and her mother. What was the good that ever came of having you here, _Alaunus_? You never had loyalty to my family. I don’t think you ever had any loyalty to Scott, either. Just yourself.” She pressed her lips together tightly, her fists clenched together, and didn’t bother trying to fight back her shift, her teeth lengthening and eyes glowing as a low, rumbling growl crept out of her throat. “Stiles is right. Get. Out.”

Derek held his head high, eyes distrustful of the vet as he slipped his arm around his sister and held her close. “You really should just go.” He said coldly.

Deaton nodded to them and left the apartment. 

Lydia yanked the door shut, scowling as she turned to face everyone. “Okay, that was...” She shook her head. “I don’t know what that was. What’s coming for us in five years? Are you allowed to tell us? Did you come here and give us toys to amuse ourselves with while we wait for something else to happen?” She glared at the Fates. 

“No, it’s not like that at all.” Clotho sighed. “Why do our conversations keep going in this direction? We expected that Deaton would choose today to tell you what’s going to happen one day, but we gave you opportunity to choose whatever you wanted, and you all chose something that mattered to you, even in choosing to help another pack member out. Please just go and live your lives, the way you can, for five years. When it’s time, you won’t have forgotten. Not a single one of you would let yourselves do that. The Furies won’t mess with your memories ever again. I know it’s a lot, with everything you have been through. But please, just trust us.” 

Allison’s voice was soft when she spoke up, a complete one-eighty from her reaction to Clotho’s first revelation the year before. “I trust you.”

Clotho smiled in relief. “Thank you.” She motioned to her sisters. “We should be going, as well. Your party got sidetracked and we want you to have fun.” She stopped by Jackson, hugging him again. “Happy birthday! I know it’s early, but it’ll be a good one. I promise.” 

Jackson hugged her back, going down to one knee to reach her properly. “Thank you.” He murmured. “For everything.”

Clotho giggled like the toddler she was pretending to be, for anyone who didn’t know better. “You’re welcome.” 

Jackson smiled down at her, running his hand over her hair.

Allison stood up and moved over to them, dropping down next to Clotho and hugging her. “Thank you.” She echoed Jackson.

Stiles turned and hugged Atropos. "We're not leaving you guys out. We're glad we know you. Thank you for everything." 

Atropos nodded as she put her arms around him awkwardly. "We haven't known a group like you. One or two at a time, sure. But not even Anna's pack was so kind to one another. We were confused, because we've known you to argue, but it never lasts very long. Entire wars were started on lesser disagreements than you've had."

Scott shifted. "Well, it wasn't always that... um, cut-and-dry, I guess. Not at the beginning. I blamed Derek for a lot of stuff that wasn't his fault, I've snapped at Allison, I've been an asshole to both Stiles and Jackson, I've punched Isaac through a wall, I've outright ignored Cora, I've used Lydia against Jackson and Stiles, I traumatized Liam, and I think the only one I haven't royally screwed up with is Malia, but for some reason, they still all like me."

"I still don't like you." Jackson replied promptly, raising a hand and looking around like he was daring anyone to contradict him.

Scott snorted. "Everyone but Jackson still likes me. My point is, I've screwed up a whole lot, but so have they, and there's no point in holding a grudge against them when I care about them. They're not just my pack." He looked at Derek and smiled. "They're my family, too, just as much as my mom and Stiles and Mr. Stilinski are. And you can be angry at your family for the stupid things they do and vice versa, but I could never start a war with them." He looked at Stiles, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Unless it's a pranking war, and then you can't just _not_."

"We've all had our moments." Stiles added. "But yeah." He glanced at Scott. "We've got five years before the Furies come back. We should probably make a plan."

"Probably," Scott agreed, nodding. "But right now, I can hear the pizza guy coming up the stairs, and now I can smell supreme double-loaded cheesy goodness, and honestly, Stiles, you know when my stomach vetoes the rest of my body, I've gotta obey." He grinned at his best friend.

Stiles laughed. “Fine, it’s not like we don’t have time. But you’d better not eat all of it or I’ll go right back to being the most dangerous person in the room. You know how I feel about pizza.” 

"And you know how _I_ feel about pizza," Scott challenged, narrowing his eyes at Stiles. He was fully aware that there was about to be a race for the door, and that when challenged, Stiles was as fast as, if not faster than, a werewolf - especially when it came to food. There had been more than a few broken vases and shattered door frames in the past, alongside two furious parents.

Lydia sighed as she leaned against Derek. “At least they’re not quoting talking turtles, this time.” 

"Cowabunga!" Scott promptly screamed, and ran for the door.

Derek glanced down at Lydia, his lips trembling from holding in his laughter. "You had to say it," he teased.

“This is entirely not my fault.” Lydia retorted, watching as Scott and Stiles started pushing each other away from the door. She shook her head and laughed. 

***

He looked down at the yearbook, then began circling pictures with a bright red marker. He would have to be patient, _they had told him to be patient_ , but he only had days and days ahead of him and nothing to do with his time until he was allowed to act. He could only hope that he wouldn’t lose his mind again. Everything looked clearer now. He would wait, he would get stronger, and he would be ready when it was time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... tell us what you thought. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this!


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